The BvG Games
by Laylaenchantix101
Summary: *Sequel to Boys vs. Girls* Once every ten years, Merriweather and Charlesfield have a friendly competition that lasts the whole year. Now that Thalia, Annabeth, and Rachel have defeated Cara and lost Bianca, they have three new roommates, who are slightly odd. And what's up with the dude who can't remember anything? And the new Headmasters? This is going to be one odd year...again.
1. Prologue

**Welcome, one and all, to the sequel of Boys vs. Girls. If you haven't read that, then this won't make much sense, will it? So I suggest you all read that, first. **

**So, let's get on with it. I don't own PJO. **

* * *

Elisha Years stood silently, staring at the dark sky through her window. She had black hair, dark brown eyes, and skin that was almost like milk.

She just stood there, doing nothing, not even blinking.

"Ms. Elisha," a voice said, muffled by the large oak door. "We found her."

Elisha smiled like a cat after eating a dead mouse. "Enter."

Her butler entered, followed shortly by two guards holding a woman that was tied up. It was clear that this woman was not happy.

"I found her," the butler repeated.

True, he was young for his age, no more than a boy. But he was still loyal, and had been since she had taken him in after his mother abandoned him. What a terrible shame. She almost felt guilty that she would have to kill him.

Almost.

"Thank you." Elisha nodded towards the guards. "I wish to speak with her in private, please."

The guards nodded, and the two of them left without a word, and was shortly followed by the boy.

There was a moment of silence. Elisha sat on a plush, velvet sofa and gave the woman before her a smile.

"It's quite an honor to meet you," she said sincerely. "I almost gave up on trying to find you. It has been a while since you first came."

The woman sneered. "What do you want, Elisha Years?"

"You know my name? And speak English?"

"English is such an easy language to learn. I've had more trouble learning to speak Greek."

Elisha noted that the womanhead ignored her first question. "Ah, nothing less to be expected, of course."

"What do you want?"

Elisha nodded in appreciation. "Right to the point, I see. Always quick."

"Flattery will get you nowhere."

"Ah, yes. Very well, then. I don't desire anything such as gold, love, or power. I only have a favor to ask of you."

"A favor?"

"Yes. There's this school, known as Merriweather Academy for Young Ladies. Well, it was, anyway. A student will be attending there. I want you to keep an eye on her, and, when the time comes, bring her to me."

The woman lifted an eyebrow. "You intend to use me as a pawn?"

"Pawn is such a bad way to put it."

"But still a way."

Elisha said nothing. She was slightly annoyed, but she knew that she couldn't press the matter. Oh, she probably could, but that would lead to very unfriendly matters.

"I am not someone to toy with, Elisha Years. I thought someone like you would know that."

Elisha frowned. "So you're refusing?"

The woman rolled her eyes. "I can tell your not used to getting told 'no', are you?" When Elisha didn't respond, the woman narrowed her eyes. "You're a fool if you think I would help you, especially since you tied me up and brought me here against my will!"

"Dwell on the negative if you choose. But I do want to make a deal. If you complete this task for me, I promise that I will make sure no one will bother you ever again."

The woman scoffed. A few seconds later. She grunted, and the ropes binding her snapped.

"I am no ones pawn, Elisha Years." The woman stood and left the room, leaving Elisha alone in the moonlit room.

"Should we stop her, Ms. Years?" a voice asked from the intercom.

"No, let her go." Elisha chuckled darkly. "No matter how powerful you may be, I will most definetly get your help. In the end, _everything_ goes my way."

For a long time, Elisha sat there, doing nothing. Then, she pressed the intercom. "Men, it's time to get rid of Jason Grace."


	2. Welcome to Merriweather

** I'm surprised at the new amount of alerts and favorites. Huh. **

**Well, I don't own PJO.**

* * *

The first thing Annabeth Chase noticed as she walked up the Grand Entrance of Merriweather Academy was infested with...boys.

This new Charlesfield-and-Merriweather-being-one-school-now thing was going to take a lot of getting used to.

"Hey, Annabeth!" a familiar voice called. Even though it was male, Annabeth felt relieved. Thalia and Rachel were going to arrive late, and she hadn't seen any sign of anyone she knew well.

"Thank heavens you're here," Annabeth said, turning to the black-haired boy behind her. "I was worried that you lost your way here, Seaweed Brain."

Percy grinned. "Rachel called to say that she would be arriving soon, and she wants us all in the west courtyard."

"She called _you_?"

"Said something about not being able to reach you."

Annabeth grimaced, making a mental note to leave her phone on more often. "Okay, thanks, I guess."

"You guess?"

"Don't press your luck."

"Aww! Young love," a voice cooed? Annabeth jumped and whipped around.

"Rachel? Is that you?"

"Yup! I'm the phone!"

"What the-?" Annabeth whacked Percy upside the head. "Idiot! You're supposed to hang up the phone!"

"I know that!"

"Then why is Rachel still on the phone?"

"That's for me to know, and you to never find out," Rachel giggled.

Annabeth slapped a hand to her forehead. "Wonderful."

"Anyway, just go to the courtyard. I'll meet you guys there when I arrive." With a click, Rachel hung up.

* * *

"Jeez, Percy. You never told me you had a girlfriend," a voice laughed. Sitting on a stone bench was Nico, as silent as ever, and two boys Annabeth didn't recognize.

Annabeth glanced at the first boy cooly. "Want to repeat that? You obviously have a death wish."

The boy raised his hands in surrender and grinned sheepishly.

"She's not my girlfriend," Percy grunted.

"Really? Then-"

"Try anything and I will strategize every single possibly painful death for you. And I will make sure that there will be no evidence of your death." Annabeth crossed her arms, her face a mask of boredom.

The boy laughed nervously. "I get it, you're in love with Percy."

"No I'm not!"

Percy quickly changed the subject before things got too ugly. "Um, Annabeth, this is Leo and Frank, our new roomates. Uh, 'our' being Nico and I, not the two of us, 'cause that would be really weird and..." He laughed nervously.

The boy that had been speaking before, Leo, snickered. "Don't screw it up before it even started, Jackson."

The other boy, Frank, sighed. "Leo, you should really shut up now."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Leo waved his hand dissmissivly. "So, tell me about this 'Leader' and 'Brain' stuff, will ya?"

Annabeth frowned at him. She was liking him less and less. "When you're a senior, you're sent on missions that involve four people. One Leader, one Brain, one Sneak, and one Maker. And-."

"I bet I'll end up as a Maker!" Leo gave her a sly smile, then winced as she delivered a swift punch to his stomach.

"Maybe I'll be a Brain," Percy suggested.

There was a moment of silence before Nico, who had been silent up until then, snorted. Annabeth cracked up, clutching her stomach.

"I'm not that stupid," Percy said defensivley.

"You-a Brain. That's priceless!" Annabeth laughed harder, and eventually got to her knees. "Good one, Seaweed Brain!" She was lying on her side now.

Frank patted Percy on the back sympatheticly. Leo smirked and glanced at Percy. "Dude, I never knew you were _this_ stupid."

Percy, throughly offended, crossed his arms. "You can shut up now."

Annabeth stood up and wiped tears of laughter from her eyes. "Whatever. I'm going up to my room. Be sure to tell Rachel if she shows up or calls again, Seaweed Brain."

She straightened her white blouse and walked towards the towering structure of Merriweather, still chuckling to herself.

* * *

Annabeth sighed as she walked through the familiar halls that led to the dorm that she, Rachel, and Thalia shared.

Bianca had once been there, too.

The thought of her dead friend made Annabeth's mood darken. Almost two months had passed since Bianca had lost her life, saving the world in the process. It wasn't fair.

It just wasn't.

She reached a door that led to her dorm. On it, the four had etched their names, so they would never forget.

Right now, Annabeth whished she could forget as she placed her hand on the knob. Memories could be so painful sometimes.

As she opened the door, Annabeth blinked in surprise as she saw three girls standing inside.

"I'm sorry, you have the wrong dorm. Please leave," Annabeth said coldly.

The first girl scowled. "No, we don't have the wrong dorm." She stuck out her hand. "My name is Reyna. We're your new roommates."


	3. The Boy Who Couldn't Remember

**I feel so loved XD.**

**I don't own PJO.**

* * *

"No, my roommates are Thalia Grace and Rachel Dare. I'm pretty sure they're not you."

The girl, Reyna, rolled her eyes. "I know that. We were told that we were going to room with the three of you."

"Uh..."

One of the other girls stood up. "Hi," she said. "Piper. This is Hazel."

"I can introduce myself," Hazel grumbled.

"Annabeth!" a familiar voice called. "I thought I told you to..." Rachel stepped into the clearing, and her voice trailed off as she stared at the three new girls.

Reyna rolled her eyes. "How many times do we have to keep repeating this?"

"They're sharing a room with the three of us," Annabeth said, her voice tight.

Rachel frowned. "I thought you were only supposed to have four roommates."

"The faculty said that this was the only room with enough space," Piper said, clearly confused.

"They say a lot of things, don't they?"

Rachel sighed and threw up her hands. "We can decide the matter when Thalia gets back. Where is she, anyway?"

* * *

The blonde-haired boy stumbled into the clearing, trying to get air into his empty lungs. Stupid fast goons! Why couldn't they run _slower_ for once?

"Where'd he go?" a voice yelled.

"Shut up!" snapped another voice. "He'll hear us coming!"

_**Thanks for the tip,**_the boy thought, running in the opposite direction the men's voice's were coming from.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are!" one of the voices snarled.

"I'm too old for games," the boy muttered under his breath.

"This way!" the other voice snapped.

The boy picked up his pace. He could hear voices, just ahead of him...

But going there would mean risking their lives.

The boy sighed and dug through his pocket, stopping long enough to retrieve the needle inside. Taking a deep breath, he plunged it into his arm and watched as the purple liquid seeped into his bloodstream.

That should save them enough time.

Hopefully.

* * *

"Hey, what's that?" Piper said suddenly, pointing outside. The crowd had finally disappeared, but one lone boy stood there, wobbling, before he collapsed on the ground.

"Oh my gosh!" Rachel cried. "Who the heck is that?"

"And how did he get past security?" Annabeth asked suspiciously.

"Who cares about that?" Piper snapped, sitting up. "We have to help him!"

"Wait a minute, Piper-" Before Reyna could finish, Piper leaped out the window.

"Yay!" Rachel clapped her hands. "A fellow Sneak!"

"Oh, now there's three Sneaks living under the same roof?" Hazel asked. Without another word, she followed Piper out the same window, too.

Rachel grinned and followed them out.

Annabeth sighed. "Look's like we better follow them."

Reyna nodded. "Agreed."

Without another word, the two raced out the door, their own thoughts clouded by annoyance and...recognition.

"Hey!" they heard Rachel yell. "Who're you?"

"Oh crud," Annabeth muttered. "More trasspassers!"

"Is this normal?" Reyna asked.

_"No!"_

There was a dull _Thud_from outside.

"Why are these walls so thin?" Reyna asked.

"They're not supposed to be!"

"Right..."

The earth beneath them began to shake. Annabeth wobbled a bit before gripping the wall for support.

"What the heck is going on?" she yelled.

Panicked students came out of nowhere, screaming and running around.

What was wrong with today?

"Everyone SILENCE!" Reyna yelled above the chaos. Everyone automatically stopped, staring at Reyna.

Annabeth was impressed. _**A Leader. Obviously.**_

"If you all want to get out of here, then go _quietly," _Reyna shouted. "Screaming like a child isn't going to help."

"And why should we listen to _you?" _a voice from the crowd said snidely.

"Because, Drew." Reyna's voice was utterly calm. "Unless you all want to scream and cause even more havoc, we need to be _calm." _

"Hey, everyone!" Rachel's voice called. "Come outside!"

The crowd poured out the door and into the open air. In the courtyard, Piper was there, along with Hazel. In Piper's lap was the head of a blonde-haired boy, his eyes fluttering shut.

"Hey, stay awake," Annabeth heard Piper say. "You still need to tell me your name."

The boy's lips moved silently before he closed his eyes, and drifted off into sleep.

* * *

Several hours later, the boy's eyes opened. Piper, Rachel, Annabeth, Reyna, Hazel, and, for some reason, the guys, were there.

"Who're you people?" he mumbled.

"I'm Piper." Piper stuck out her hand. "We found you in the courtyard."

"Where am I?"

"Merriweather Academy," Percy piped up.

"What am I doing here?"

"You don't remember anything?" Reyna frowned. "Why not?"

"I...I don't know. I don't even know my name."

"Jason Grace. You told me your name was Jason Grace," Piper recalled.

"_Grace?" _Annabeth scowled. "That can't be right. She doesn't have a brother!"

"Who doesn't have a brother?" Jason asked.

"Thalia! Thalia Grace!"

"Grace can be another's name," Reyna muttered.

"Well, it isn't!" Rachel snapped. "So if you have anything to say-"

"Shut up!" Nico yelled. He spun towards Jason. "The new Headmaster wants to see you. So if you would please come with me and leave this girls to their arguments, we can go!"

Looking relieved, Jason stood up and followed Nico out the door, shortly followed by Percy.

"What does this mean?" Rachel asked Annabeth quietly.

"I don't know." Annabeth's voice was grave. "If there's anything Merriweather taught us, there is no such thing as a coincidence."


	4. Evsdropping and New Discoveries

"Annabeth, I just realized something," Rachel whispered at dinner.

"What?"

"What's Thalia going to say about our new roommates?"

Annabeth stiffened, as though the thought hadn't occured to her before. Of course, it had, but she hadn't put much thought into it until now...

Rachel muttered something under her breath. Annabeth swore in Greek, but stopped when she recieved odd looks from their friends.

"So how was your summer?" Katie Gardner, a long-time friend, asked.

"Fine," Annabeth said glumly. "Not very exciting, really."

Another friend, Silena Beauregard, leaned closer. "Are you sure about that?"

"Yes, Silena," Annabeth grumped. "Very sure."

The last one, Clarisse La Rue, grunted. "Silena, I'm very sure they didn't fall in love with a French boy."

"But it would be so romantic! Unrealistic, but romantic," Silena chuckled. "I can daydream, can't I?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Haha, very funny."

"Is it because of that Percy Jackson?" Silena asked, leaning closer.

"What do you mean?"

"You didn't fall in love with anyone because your heart belongs to Percy!"

"No! And if my heart belonged to Percy, he would've had to rip it out of my body, and then I would be dead."

Silena wrinkled her nose. "You're gross."

"I'm a Brain."

"Okay then!" Katie said, smiling widely. "Why don't you invite your new roommates to sit with us?"

Annabeth and Rachel glanced at each other before shrugging. "I don't have a problem with it," Annabeth said.

"No reason not to invite them," Rachel agreed. She looked around the dining room. "Huh, I don't see them anywhere."

Annabeth sighed. "I'll look for them!" She stood up and took one last bite of garlic bread before exiting the room.

Outside in the halls, it was dark and empty of life. Annabeth shuddered, recalling the time in the courtyard. When Bianca died.

**_No!_ **she thought forcefully, shaking her head. _**Now's not the time to bring up bad memories. **_

Annabeth continued her walk, calling out softly. Maybe the library...

Her footsteps echoed loudly in the hallway. Annabeth became very aware of how empty they were. This place wasn't haunted, was it?

No. Research proved that the thought of ghosts were simply tricks of the mind, and as for evidence that everyone 'ghost hunters' had gathered...

As Annabeth was lost in her thoughts, there were voices talking.

"...sir. I really don't."

It was Jason 'Grace'. Annabeth held her breath and pressed herself against the wall.

An unfamiliar voice said gently, "I know you're confused. But I'm sure there's a reason for that."

"What possible reason could there be?"

"I don't know. There may be a cure."

"There _may _be?"

"I don't know."

"But this drug-"

"It's not a drug. It's merely a plant, Jason."

"But sir-"

"No buts!" the voice said sharply. Annabeth realized that this was probably the voice of the new Headmaster.

There was a small _thud _on the other side of Annabeth. At once, the voices were quiet, and Annabeth froze, hoping that they wouldn't come out.

And, of course, the doorknob rattled. Before Annabeth could react, someone came running over, snatched her wrist, and pulled her into an empty classroom before she could even cry out.

"Don't move," a voice whispered.

"Seaweed Brain! What the-"

Before she could finish, there was soft patter of footsteps. Percy had his hand over Annabeth's mouth, and his arm around her waist. Annabeth made an indignant noise and tried tob break free.

"Nothing, sir," Jason's voice said.

"Good. You begin in the morning, then."

"Yes, uh, thank you."

* * *

"You idiot!" Annabeth hissed a few minutes later, finally getting him to take his hand off her mouth. "What were you thinking, dropping a book in the middle of an important conversation that we would have gotten into a heck of a lot of trouble listening in to, but you completly disrespect the honor of books! What kind of person are you, Seaweed Brain?"

"Will you keep quiet already?" Percy snapped quietly. "They could still hear us!"

Annabeth became aware that he hadn't removed his arm from her waist. Percy, apparently, realized that, too, because he jerked away.

"So, um, bye," Percy said quickly, exiting the classroom.

Annabeth crossed her arms and scowled at his retreating back. What was _wrong _with boys? They could be completly dense sometimes. It was so _annoying._

A few minutes later, Annabeth trudged back into the dining room. When she arrived at the table, she found Hazel, Reyna, and Piper sitting there.

"They came a few minutes after you left," Rachel explained.

Annabeth shot her an irritated look and plopped into her chair. "Whatever. Pass the salt, please."

"Why so glum?" a voice asked. Annabeth assumed it was Piper or something, and mumbled, "Why do you care?"

"Because I'm your best friend. For a Brain, you're acting like an idiot today."

"Thalia!" Annabeth exclaimed, reaching out to hug her friend.

"Yeah, the one and only. Can you let me go, please?"

"Right, sorry," Annabeth said quickly, letting Thalia go.

Thalia was still the same as ever. Spiky black hair, un-done uniform bow, and patched up leggings. And electric blue eyes.

Annabeth froze. "Jason."

Thalia frowned. "Who?"

"Nothing."

"Annabeth, tell me what you said. _Now."_

"Oh my..." Piper's voice trailed off. "You have Jason Grace's eyes."

"Jason Grace?" Thalia stood up abruptly. "You know Jason Grace?"

Piper nodded. "Yeah. And...?"

"He's alive. He's alive." Thalia turned to Piper. "Take me to him."

"Why?"

"Because, person I just met, he's my _brother!" _


	5. The New Headmasters

**I don't own PJO.**

* * *

"B-brother?" Annabeth spluttered. "Thalia, you-"

"I don't think that matters right now, Annabeth!" Thalia snapped, not taking her eyes off of Piper. "Where is he?"

"The infirmary, but-"

Without another word, Thalia abruptly stood and started to walk towards the exit. Before she could leave, however, a voice called, "Leaving so soon?"

At the front of the dining room, there was a woman that she had never seen before. She was simply elegent, with a gray suit and curly brown hair, and black eyes, standing next to a man in a wheelchair. She gave Thalia a friendly smile. "If you would kindly sit down."

Annabeth and Rachel walked up and gently guided Thalia back to the table. Her face was flushed red with anger, and she was ready to bolt away from the room at a moment's notice.

"Calm down, Thals," Rachel whispered.

"Don't call me that!"

Once they sat down, the woman clapped her hands. "Hello, one and all! I am Headmistress Sophia."

"And I am your new Headmaster, Mr. Brunner," said the man in a wheelchair.

Annabeth glanced at Rachel and Thalia. Her eyes seemed to be asking, _How did someone like him become the new Headmaster?_

Thalia shrugged, and Rachel looked at the stage sadly.

"And, though we are new here, it is my understanding that we are hosting our annual Boys versus Girls Games!"

For a moment, total, utter silence. Then loud cheering, and people hurling insults at one another.

"We're gonna mop the floor with your faces, girls!"

"Prepare to get beaten, you pathetic excuses for human beings!"

"Go back to cooking!"

The person who had said this last one had to be sent to the infirmary.

Thalia grinned. "Yes! This is awesome! This is what I've been looking foreward here at this school!"

The annual Boys versus Girls games took place every ten years. Regular competitions, such as basketball, baseball, soccer, took place, academic sports, and sports that a normal school wouldn't have, such as sword fighting, archery, and, everyone's favorite, capture the flag. And the best part? There were _no _classes.

Sophia raised her arms and motioned for everyone to silence. "And since Merriweather and Charlesfield are now one school," she continued, "that means exactly two things. One, we need a new name for this Academy. Two, it saves us the whole 'welcome to Merriweather!' banquet that we're required to throw for the Charlesfield boys."

More cheering from the girls.

"Well, I suppose that will be all," Headmaster Brunner said cheerfully. "Remember, curfew is at eleven."

The crowd broken into chatter again. The smile slipped off of Thalia's face as she stood up again and prepared to leave.

"Hey, wait!" Silena cried. "Where're you going"

"Infirmary!" Thalia called over her shoulder. "I'm sick of waiting!"

"She actually _waits?" _Piper asked.

Annabeth groaned and stood up. "I'm coming with you, Thalia."

"Same here," Rachel called.

* * *

_FIVE MINUTES LATER_

"Hello," the elderly nurse said. "Do you have an appointment?"

"No. I'm here to see my brother," Thalia said.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Visiting hours our over." The woman shut her eyes and slumped in her seat.

"Hey! Wake up!" Thalia snapped.

The woman opened her eyes and smiled. "Hello, dear. Do you have an appointment?"

Thalia gave the woman an 'are-you-serious' look. "No, I'm here to see my brother, Jason Grace."

"Sorry, dear," the nurse said kindly. "The Headmaster has forbidden anyone from seeing that patient. Plus, visiting hours our over." The woman closed her eyes.

Thalia's nostrils flared. "Listen up, lady, I thought that he was dead for a long, long time, and to find out that he's here, right inside the infirmary, no more than a few doors away, really angers me. I haven't seen him since I was seven, and when he disapepared, I ran away and lived on my own for several years. To know that he's still alive brings a great joy to my heart and all that kind of junk, so can I _PLEASE_ see him?" Thalia glared at the woman.

The nurse opened her eyes. "Do you have an appointment?"

"ARGH!" Thalia spun around, opened the door, and walked out, slamming the door shut behind her.

Rachel shrugged and said, "Well, that went better then I expected."

"No kidding," Annabeth agreed.

_BAM!_

"Okay, maybe not so good," Rachel admitted.

* * *

When Annabeth and Rachel arrived back at the dorm, they found Thalia arguing with Reyna, Piper, and Hazel.

"Look, whatever kind of joke this is, it isn't funny," Thalia was saying. "There's no way that you were asked to live here."

"We were," Reyna said firmly. "Just because our presence displeases you does not mean that we will leave willingly. We were told that this was the only room with enough beds for the three of us."

Thalia spun around and looked at Rachel and Annabeth. "Tell them they can't stay!" she cried, gesturing wildly to the three.

Annabeth frowned. "We didn't know what to think, either, Thalia, but aren't you overreacting a bit?"

"Overreacting? _OVERREACTING?"_

"I'll assume that's a yes," Piper concluded.

Thalia's face turned red with anger. "I'm going to bed."

Rachel gave the three an apologetic smile and followed Thalia. "Thals, come on. It won't be that bad."

"Don't call me that!"

Annabeth was already next to her. "Thalia," she said. "I know you don't like the thought of people taking Bianca's place, but thre are no more rooms. Besides, we can make new friends. It isn't impossible."

Thalia collapsed onto her bed. "I know," she mumbled. "I just don't like the idea. I guess I am a little bit paranoid about the whole Cara and Z thing last year..."

"Yeah," Rachel agreed. "We're all pretty hung up over that. But let's just stay calm and get some rest, okay?"

"Yeah, okay." Thalia yawned and fell asleep in moments.

Annabeth stretched out on her bed. "You're right. We have a long year ahead of us. After all, the BvG games are about to begin."


	6. Let the Games Begin!

**43 reviews~! **

**You people seriously rock. For that, I will try to make this up to two thousand or more words!**

**SPECIAL SHOUT OUT TO OLD NURSE LADY! YOU ROCK!**

**I don't own PJO!**

* * *

The actual games weren't called 'The BvG Games'. But people had been calling it that for so long, they didn't exactly remember what the original name was, nor did they really care.

That morning, Merriweather and Charlesfield could hardly eat. But that was probably because they were chanting, "Games! Games! BvG Games!" over and over.

Finally, the Headmistress stood and motioned for silence. "Yes, I know you're all excited," she said, once everyone had shut up. "But, as you all may know, you have some training to do before the actual games begin."

There was a collective groan from the crowd. The same person who made the kitchen comment even yelled, "Training is for little girls!"

This one got him sent to the infirmary again.

Rachel slumped in her seat. "That is so not fair," she complained.

"It's required, though," Thalia muttered.

Clarisse cracked her knuckles. "I, for one, am looking foreward to punching some guys."

Thalia grinned and exchanged a high-five with Clarisse. "You got that right! Punching guys will be the highlight of the year!"

"You two are so childish sometimes," Silena told them.

"And you're too intrested in playing cupid," Thalia shot back.

Before Silena could retort, the Headmistress continued, ignoring everyone elses groans. "You'll all be divided into two groups. And, to keep it fair, we're going to have you draw sticks, just like always!"

"We're not in kindergarden!" another voice yelled.

"Yes, I am well aware of that," the Headmistress said. "But, like I said, it's to be fair! And you all know it, too!"

Each year, the faculty members had the students draw sticks. There was an exact even number with every single color. For example, if those who drawed a blue stick, and their color was called, they would compete in their section of the games. It was equal and fair, but it made the students feel childish.

"She seems like an airhead," Rachel whispered to Annabeth. "I wonder why she was selected."

"No, I don't think so," Annabeth whispered back. "I have a feeling she's hiding something from us."

Thalia leaned back, shrugging. "So what? Everyone's got something to hide. She's no different." Thalia paused. "At least, I don't think she's hiding a secret as bad as Headmistress Cara." She scowled.

Annabeth frowed, but didn't say anything. There was something to this new headmistress. She just knew it. It didn't give off a sinister vibe, like And she was determined to find out what.

* * *

"Okay, everyone, cheer up. Don't sulk like three year-olds!" Headmaster Brunner said cheerfully.

It was later that day, and at least one hundred or more students were crowded in the gym. The gray, red, and yellow team were crowded inside. Annabeth saw Clarisse and Rachel (both who were on the yellow team), and scanned for anyone else she knew. To her surprise, she found herself disappointed when she didn't find anyone on the boy's side of the gym. She scolded herself mentally. What was there to be disappointed about? They were..._boys. _

"Today, we're going to be working on simple punching exercises. Anyone want to go first?" the Headmaster called.

There was a long, awkward pause for several minutes. The Headmaster sat there, in his wheelchair, staring at them.

Then, finally: "Fine, fine." Mr. Brunner sighed. "How about you, Ms. La Rue? Your files say that you are quite talented in hand-to-hand combat. I would like to see you in action, if you don't mind."

Clarisse frowned. "Um, okay." She approached Headmaster Brunner slowly, as though she were expecting him to come out and bite.

"Well, go on, Ms. La Rue.."

"Go on with what?"

"Try and punch me," Headmaster Brunner said, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. He seemed totally relaxed.

"Punch you?" Clarisse asked. She glanced at his wheelchair, but if he noticed, he didn't seem to mind. "Sir, I can't punch a member of the faculty. I'd get in trouble.

"I grant you permission, Ms. La Rue." His eyes twinkled. "You're not _scared, _are you?"

There was a collective gasp from the crowd. Clarisse remained expressionless, but it was clear that her anger was building as she stared at the man.

Rachel winced. "He shouldn't have said that, even if he _is _the Headmaster."

Annabeth nodded in agreement. She wanted to turn away, but she knew that chances like this were exceptionally rare.

Clarisse scowled. "I'm not going to go easy on you, Headmaster."

"I don't exepct you to." The Headmaster gave her a pleasant smile, inviting her to openly break every bone in his face.

Clarisse swung her fist at him. Everyone waited to see the Headmaster fall out of his chair, but it never happened. Instead, he was gripped Clarisse's fist tightly, not even moving

For a few seconds, there was a stunned silence. It took Clarisse several seconds to realize that the Headmaster was not lying on the floor with a broken jaw.

Rachel glanced at Annabeth, and muttered, "The heck? Have you ever seen anyone do that?"

Annabeth shook her head, just as confused as everyone else.

"Surely you can't do better then that, Ms. La Rue," Headmaster Brunner said, the same pleasant smile on his face.

Clarisse shook off her shock. "Alright, then." When she brought her fist back, she swung with all her might, not holding back. Headmaster Brunner grabbed her fist again, and this time, twisted it so she was forced to turn so her arm wouldn't break. In exactly two minutes, she was kneeling on the floor, her arm pinned behind her. There was a collective gasp from the crowd.

"Well, then," Headmaster Brunner said, letting Clarisse go. "Who's next?"

No one had the heart to judge him after that.

* * *

A few hours later, they were on the field, staring wide-eyed at the preperations.

Thalia grinned, finally breaking out of her ten-minute shock that she had gone into after her best friends told her the story of what had happened at their training. "This is it, guys," she breathed. "The first part of the BvG Games."

For many years, the three-once four-girls had heard rumors about the legendary games. Some had even died, but that rarely ever happened...as far as they knew.

The arena took their breath away. It was lavishly decorated in blue and pink decorations, and the bleachers were decorated with the symbol of each gender. On the walls, there was a various amount of weapons that probably would have gotten any other school arrested; swords, bow and arrows, spears...the list continued on and on. Not to mention that it was _huge. _

"Oh, wow," Rachel breathed. "It's incredibly freaky and awesome at the same time!"

"No kidding," Annabeth agreed. They stepped up to the pink-covered bleacher, where the entire school of Merriweather sat.

"Oooh, I can't wait 'till it's our color's turn!" Rachel squealed. Thalia covered her ears in mock pain, and Rachel stuck her tounge out at her.

Annabeth smiled. It was nice to know that they were still able to have good times...

...even after her death. Annabeth's good mood melted a little.

"Hey, guys!" a voice called. The three turned to see Katie, waving at them excitedly. "We saved you guys a seat!" she called.

"That's great!" Thalia called. "We'll come join you!" Though it was difficult, they managed to reach Katie untrampled.

"Is there anyone we know out there?" Rachel asked.

"They didn't even announce the colors yet!" Silena scolded. "So how should we know?"

Clarisse grinned. "Anyone wanna bet?"

"My bet's on blue," Annabeth and Thalia said.

"Red," Clarisse and Silena chimed in.

"Green," Katie said.

Rachel studied the ground below. "My bet will be on...purple."

"Purple?" Clarisse scoffed. "Purple is _never _chosen first."

"And I presume you've been to the last game, ten years ago?" Rachel challenged.

Clarisse sighed in defeat. "You got me there, Red-Head."

"Don't call me that!"

"Remember this," Thalia declared, "next time you call me Thals."

"Whatever!" Rachel turned her back on them with an indignant huff. Thalia and Clarisse chuckled. Annabeth glanced around them, frowning. Where were-?

"Attention, all Merriweather and Charlesfield students!" a voice boomed, inturrupting her thoughts. Annabeth nearly jumped out of her seat. Annabeth momentarily forgot about the three new roomates as she watched the Headmaster and Headmistress on the stage.

"Welcome, one and all, for the forty-fourth annual BvG Games!" Headmistress Sophia called. At once, the students began to chant, "Games, games! BvG Games!"

The Headmaster raised his arms for silence. "Yes, yes, we all get it," he shouted into his microphone. "Today's challenge shall be _everyone's _favorite!"

"Capture the flag?" a loud voice yelled.

"No, no," Sophia chidded. "That's our grand finale! Today's challenge will be a simple obstacle course! Team purple, assume your positions!"

Rachel's friends were silent. Rachel grinned in triumph, pumping a fist in the air. "Pay up, suckers!" she cheered.

"Oh, shut it," Thalia grumbled. "Let's just watch."

Groups of girls rose from the seats and walked down into the field. Annabeth realized two of them were Reyna and Hazel.

"Hey, look," she said to Thalia and Rachel. "It's them." She pointed towards the group of girls.

Thalia squinted. "That's funny," she murmured. "I wonder where Piper is."

By now, a large number of girls and boys wearing purple shirts had gathered on the arena. The large obstacle course suddenly came into view. Trampolines, a hole with a plank on it, monkey bars, tires to step through, a huge pit of vinegar, a pool-all there, scattered across the arena.

"Alright," Sophia hollered. "You should know the rules. Each group ties themselves together by the waist, and they have to work together as a team. No interfering with the other group. Got it?"

There was a shout.

The Headmistress looked at her watch. "And now...LET THE GAMES BEGIN!"

The crowd was exploded into cheers as the two groups grabbed rope and looped it around their wastes. Clarisse leaned foreward, staring at the feild with intensity.

The girls were the first to go. They hopped through a field of trampolines, but it was hard, considering that they were bunched together. By the time the boys were running, they were working on a line to walk across the plank on. Despite the roar of the crowd, sounds that sounded suspiciously like monkey's shrieked from the hole.

"Please tell me they didn't import monkey's again," Annabeth whispered to Thalia.

"Who knows, who cares?" Thalia cheered. "BEAT THOSE SUCKERS!" she yelled.

Annabeth frowned and tugged on Thalia's sleeve. "When did you become a good actor?" she asked.

Thalia stopped cheering and blinked at her friend. "What the heck are you talking about, Chase?"

"You know exactly what I mean," Annabeth stated. "You're still worried about that Jason kid, aren't you?"

Thalia lowered her arms. "Annabeth, I can't explain right now. Let's just try to enjoy this before it ends."

"Thalia!" Annabeth hissed. "I'm your best friend. Rachel is your best friend. We deserve an explanation!"

"Not right now!" Thalia exploded. "I just can't."

"You can't, or you won't?" Annabeth challenged.

Thalia didn't respond.

"Come on, Thalia, please, just-"

"And the winners of this challenge are the girls!"

The entire girl-bleacher exploded into cheers. On the field, the girls who had been competing were drenched in what was probably the vinegar, and their clothes were torn to shreds. On the other side, the boys booed loudly.

"Yes, yes, today was much fun indeed," Sophia said cheerfully. "But now, it's time for dinner! Everyone, let's all eat and get some rest!"

The girls rose from the seats and rocketed onto the field, carrying the victorious purple girls all the way to the cafeteria.

Annabeth turned back to Thalia, but her friend was already gone.

* * *

"Is there any luck?"

A long pause from the other end. "No. He's under the protection of the Academy."

"Is that so?" Elisha crossed one leg over the other. "Interesting. They recieved a new Headmaster and mistress, correct?"

"Yes, they did."

Elisha grinned. "Perfect. Thank you." She set the phone on the table, and clasped her hands together, smirking.

Already, things were going her way _perfectly. _

They always did, after all.


	7. Baseball Caps

The next day, Annabeth woke early. Glancing at her clock, she was surprised to discover it was three a.m.

Knowing there was no way for her to fall asleep again, she sighed and got up, careful not to disturb her friends. Being quiet could be such a pain sometimes.

After getting dressed, she exited her dorm. Outside, there were low murmurs of the Makers building the next event of the games.

"...no!"

Annabeth stopped dead in her tracks. What was...?

"You think I will play into your hands so easily?" the voice snarled. With a start, Annabeth realized it was the Headmistress. Her voice sounded strange when it was angry.

"I-" her voice stopped suddenly. For a few moments, there was a long silence.

Then: "You can stop hiding. I know you're there."

Annabeth flushed and sheepishly stepped inside the room. As she did, she realized that it was empty. Who could have possibly been in here? She hadn't seen anyone come out. And the windows were at least five stories up. No one could have jumped. And as far as she could tell, there was no ladder.

"Ah, Ms. Chase, correct?" Sophia asked.

"Yes, Headmistress Sophia." Annabeth ducked her head.

"Why are you awake at three a.m in the morning?" the headmistress inquired.

"Um...why are _you _up at three in the morning?" Annabeth mentally facepalmed. That was not something a Brain would say.

To her surprise, the Headmistress chuckled. "Well played, my dear. Well played indeed."

Annabeth lifted her head in shock. The Headmistress' light, playful tone had come again. It sounded nothing like her angry voice. Almost like...they were two different people.

"Er, Headmistress Sophia? How did you know my name? We haven't talked at all."

The Headmistress' smile vanished. "I was informed of what happened last year by the school board."

Annabeth bit her lip to stop herself from saying anything. She remembered that night clearly. How her friend looks before she died, the feeling of betrayal as the door slammed shut behind Bianca...

The necklaces.

Annabeth had hidden hers before she had left for the funeral, and knew it was comletly harmless now. But the fact that those necklaces gave them some kind of power was startling. Annabeth remembered all of her senses sharpening, as though they had been magnified. She was able to calculate every single detail of her attacker, Z, the former Headmaster of Charlesfield. What move he was using, how fast it was, how long she had to wait before jumping out of the way...it had been thrilling, but the thought of having that much power in just a single piece of jewelry was frightening. Too much power for someone like her, a student still training.

"Oh," Annabeth responded quietly. "I guess it's not a surprise they would tell you about what happened, huh?"

The Headmistress patted her hand. "I understand what you are feeling."

Annabeth eyed her warily. "Headmistress Sophia-"

"Please, Ms. Chase. Call me Sohpia." The Headmistress gave her a smile.

"Yes, Head-Sophia." Annabeth remembered Cara, and how she was so prim and cold. Sophia was the exact opposite of the evil Headmistress.

Well, at least she knew that Sohpia wouldn't try to take over the world by kidnapping one of her friends.

"Tell me, what do you think of your roommates?" Sohpia asked suddenly.

"Thalia and Rachel?" Annabeth asked, confused.

"Your new roommates."

"Oh." Annabeth paused. "I don't know, actually. I don't see them around much, except at meals and the dorm. I think Reyna was put on the purple team, though I didn't see her."

Sophia leaned back in her chair. "I hope you know that the three were put with you girls for a reason."

Annabeth blinked. "What?"

Sophia shook her head. "No, no, nothing. Nevermind."

"Sophia, what do you mean they were put with us for a reason?" Annabeth persisted. What on Earth could she be talking about? What...

"Oh, silly me," Sophia laughed. "I meant that they were put in your room because of the extra beds! Oh, just like me to make everything sound dramatic."

Annabeth gave her a small smile. She wasn't gulliable, but something about Sophia assured Annabeth that she was telling the truth. But...something wasn't right. What was it?

"You had me scared for a moment, Sophia," Annabeth said, letting out a weak laugh.

Sophia laughed, too. "Yes. Yes, indeed."

For a few moments, it was silent. Then, Annabeth asked, "Who were you talking to?"

Sophia chuckled nervously. "No one. You see, I have slight anger issues, and sometimes I rave out loud to let my anger out. I'm sorry to have startled you."

"Oh, it's okay." Inwardly, Annabeth frowned. Something about her voice was _too _smooth. The Headmistress was hiding something. Most definetly.

"Ms. Chase," Sophia said quietly. "I would like to give you a gift. Something...I made."

"Oh, um, really?" Annabeth's confusion grew. True, the Headmistresses (excluding Cara) of the past tried to keep a good relationship with their students, but this...was odd. Annabeth had never heard of anything like this happening before.

"Yes. Here." Sophia opened a drawer of her desk open. Annabeth clenched her fists by her sides, and for a brief moment, wondered if the Headmistress would pull out a gun and shoot her.

Instead, she pulled out a hat.

A baseball cap, actually.

Annabeth's shoulders sagged in relief. "You made this?" Annabeth asked. She was now utterly baffled. Of all the things to give to a student...a _baseball cap? _She didn't even watch baseball!

As if reading her mind, Sophia said, "You'll understand. Eventually."

"Um...okay."

"Now, go on, Ms. Chase," Sophia said. She made a 'shoo shoo' motion with her hands. "You have a long day ahead of you. The next event of the games is soon to come!"

"Yes, of course." Annabeth stood. "Thank you, Head-Sophia." With that, she turned and left. But before she did, she heard Sophia mutter, "Talk. Quickly."

* * *

"Hey! Annabeth!"

Annabeth turned around and smiled at Percy. She hadn't been able to talk to him since he had left the infirmary with Nico and Jason.

"Seaweed Brain!" she said cheerfully. "Good to see you again!"

Percy didn't even complain about his nickname like he usually did. "Thalia has been freaking out over that guy who's been in the infirmary, right?"

Annabeth frowned. "If you're going to try and make her mad, it's going to work. Trust me, it will."

"No, no, I mean that he's going to room with us! So Thalia can talk to him," Percy continued.

Annabeth's eyes widened. "Wow, really?" Without thinking, she gave Percy a hug. "That's great! Thanks for telling me!"

"Hands off the enemy!" a female voice barked.

Suddenly aware of what she was doing, Annabeth abruptly pulled away. "Uh, sorry."

Percy's face was tinged with red. "Uh, it's nothing. Really." He shifted awkwardly.

"No talking to the enemy, either!" the same voice barked at Annabeth.

"Oh, shut up already!" Annabeth snapped at the girl.

The girl, scowling, strolled up to her. "Hon," she drawled, "I don't think it's right to talk to the enemy. Am I right?" She lifted an eyebrow at Percy.

"Do I know you?" Annabeth asked the girl.

The girl tossed her hair over her shoulder. "The name's Drew."

Annabeth remembered Reyna calling for attention on the first day, and some girl named Drew spoke out against her. This girl must have been the same one...

"Well," Annabeth said shortly, grabbing Percy's arm, "hi, and bye, Drew." With that, she turned and stalked away, dragging Percy with her.

"What was all that about?" Percy asked.

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "And you wonder why I call you Seaweed Brain."

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing." Annabeth let go of his arm. "I'll see you later. I'll go tell Thalia the news."

"Um, okay. Bye!" Percy gave her a smile and turned around.

With a sudden sense of urgency, Annabeth bolted away and into the dormitories.

**_The hat...where's the hat...?_**

When Annabeth entered her dorm, two men were there, throwing random things across the floor.

"Hey, who are you?" Annabeth yelled. The two men looked at her, startled.

"Get out!" Annabeth got into a defensive stance. The men, however, didn't seem willing to fight her. With a wild cry, they opened the window and jumped out.

This was _so _not the reaction Annabeth was expecting. With a jolt of alarm, she ran towards the open window and looked down.

The men were gone.

What were they doing? Were they looking for the hat?

No, impossible. It wasn't logical. Unless they were there when Sophia gave her the hat, they couldn't have possibly known about it...besides, why would they want the hat _anyway? _

"Attention students! Everyone who is not at the stadium is to report there immedietly! Today's challenge, you ask? Baseball!" came the cheerful voice of Sophia.

_**Baseball?**_Annabeth smiled wryly. No wonder Sophia had given her the hat.

After fishing through her drawer, she smiled slightly and placed it on her head.

And when she turned to the mirror, she let out a horrified shriek.


	8. This Is Why You Needs Baseball Caps

**Hi, guys. *sheepish smile* Sorry for the long wait. I've been at this AWESOME camp called Alpine, and I've recently become obsessed with this new anime/manga called Inuyasha. I. Freaking. Love it.**

**Anyhooo...onto the story!**

**And to answer the questions to Lightning-AND'Death and Stormbringer Avalon, I'm afraid I can't confirm anything right now about that. Sorry. **

* * *

"Ugh, where the heck is Annabeth?" Thalia muttered. "We've been waiting here for a half an hour. If she doesn't hurry, we'll be late for the baseball game!"

"Oh, calm down, Thalia," Rachel chidded. "Annabeth will be here soon. I'm sure of it."

"You better be."

"Hmmph." Rachel crossed her arms.

Just then, a sound of pattering footsteps came. Annabeth appeared, a bottle of water and a wad of cash in hand.

"Oh, hey, what took you so long?" Thalia asked. She snatched the wad of money from Annabeth's hand.

"Had some trouble finding a hat for my head," Annabeth told them. "I didn't find it, so I just grabbed some water and cash."

"It's a good thing you did, too," Thalia announced. "You have enough money to get us some peanuts, sodas, cotton candy, and possibly some other stuff that they're selling.

"Perfect, then!" Rachel said brightly. "Let's go. Silena's team is performing today, and we don't want to miss a chance to cheer her on! Plus, Hazel, Piper, and Reyna are joining us today."

"Oh, really?" Annabeth asked. "Sounds nice."

Thalia studied Annabeth's face. "You don't sound very excited, Annabeth."

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "_Please. _I have better things to do then watch people hit balls with wooden sticks."

"One, their called bats," Thalia corrected. "Besides, what things? Classes are cancelled due to the games, and besides, this is one time where we have an excuse to DEMOLISH Charlesfield!"

"You do know we're a joint school now, right?" Rachel pointed out dryly.

Thalia crossed her arms. "Whatever. Let's just go down. I'm sure the others are going to be waiting for us."

* * *

At the Games, when you played baseball, you were actually encouraged to hit people on the head with the baseball or the bat. Or with your fists. It didn't really matter. But they allowed so many things at the Games, it didn't even look like baseball.

"Strike one!" a person yelled when the batter failed to hit the ball. The girl side of the stadium groaned.

"We all know and love Silena, but really, she sucks at baseball," Thalia complained.

Rachel shrugged. "She's trying," she said helpfully.

Reyna was frowning. "I don't understand."

"It's baseball," Annabeth said. "You hit the ball with a baseball bat. That's pretty much it."

"It is not!" Clarisse snapped, offended at Annabeth's discription of the sport.

"Oh really? I'd like to see you explain it better," Annabeth challenged.

Hazel giggled. "You guys are funny," she said. "I don't ever remember having this much fun before."

"Really?" Annabeth asked. "That's just sad. I can imagine way more fun things than a baseball game."

"NAILED IT!" Katie shrieked as she watched one of the girls 'accidently' hit a boy in the stomach with a baseball bat.

"That's gotta hurt," Piper muttered.

Thalia laughed. "That's why it's hilarious!"

"But isn't this illegal in some places?" Reyna questioned.

Clarisse shrugged. "I dunno. Who car- AIM FOR THE HEAD! AIM FOR THE HEAD!"

Annabeth sighed and let her attention drift away. The hat...the hat...

What had Headmistress Sophia _given _her?

* * *

Later that day, after the baseball game ended (boys won, though many of them had some serious head wounds), Annabeth was making her way towards Sophia's office.

"Ah, Sophia?" Annabeth asked, tapping lightly on the closed door. To her surprise, the door creaked open.

It was unlocked. _Never _a good idea. There were always troublemakers at the school. Of course, they would have to be stupid to try to do something to the Headmistress's office, but still. It just wasn't a good idea.

Annabeth poked her head in. "Sophia? Are you here? It's me, Annabeth Chase. You know, the one you gave the hat to?"

The room was dark and silent.

Annabeth swallowed and clenched the cap in her fist. What was this hat? When she had examined it, there were no wires or anything. It was just a _hat._

But how was that even possible?

"Maybe I should just leave a note for her," Annabeth mused out loud. "Yeah, that would be a good idea."

Annabeth set the hat on the desk and began to rummage the desk for paper. Just then, Annabeth froze. Someone was walking quietly. There was no reason to walk quietly for a member of the faculty or a student...

...no reason at all...unless you were an intruder.

Without thinking, Annabeth snatched the cap and shoved it on her head. No sooner did she that the door opened wider, and two large, hulking figures stood outside.

"This is a waste of time," one of the figures said gruffly. "It's not like we're going to find anything intresting. Probably just some boring papers about the school."

Annabeth froze. These were the two men that had been in her room earlier! What were they...?

"I'm tellin' you, that Headmistress gave it to the little blonde brat! We would've found it if she hadn't come in at that moment!"

Annabeth stood stock still. The men walked right past her.

"And _I'm _tellin' _you _that this is a waste of time. Why do we care about some stupid hat? Besides, the Boss isn't intrested in it."

"Even so, we gotta give her somethin' or else she'll kill us!"

The man's partner snorted. "Nah. She needs her spies. Unlike that poor boy she sent the guards to hunt down."

Annabeth was instantly alert.

"Yeah. I heard that he managed to escape with his life. Even stole one of the chemicals in her lab and injected it in himself. I think he's in the school."

"Weird. Think it's a coincidence?"

Annabeth scowled. There were no such things as coincidences. Several years of training had taught her that.

A year ago had taught her that.

"No way." Another snort from the man's partner. "I think he knew where he was headed. Whatever he learned from when he was a kid hasn't worn off, eh?"

"I guess not."

After a few more words that Annabeth didn't bother listening to, the first man concluded, "The hat ain't here. Let's go before someone comes in and catches us."

"Yeah, I agree. This place gives me the creeps. I feel like somethin' is watching us."

Without another word, the two men walked right past Annabeth.

Almost like she was invisible.

Annabeth let exhaled as soon as the men left the room. With a quick glance around the room, she concluded that she was alone. Slowly, she raised her hand to her face. With the other, she slowly removed the cap and watched as her hand reappeared.

Annabeth was confused; she hated that. As a Brain, she was _not _fond of not knowing anything.

But what she did know was that she had to tell her friends what she had heard.

But the hat...

Annabeth glanced at it and shoved it in the pocket of her uniform skirt. _**I'll keep it hidden just for a little bit longer. Something...something's telling me that I can't tell them about this cap. The cap that makes me invisible. **_


	9. Words of Confusion

**What time is it?**

**NEW CHAPTER TIME!**

**Sorry Adventure Time Fans.**

**I don't own PJO...or Adventure Time, for that matter...**

* * *

Duck. Roll. Slash. Stab. Repeat if required.

That was Annabeth's favorite way to train.

In her hand was a bronze knife. Using one of the Level 3 dummies (dummies that were able to move) was a good challenge. Though she wanted to desperately advance to Level 4, or maybe even Level 5, she knew that she'd have to wait for another year or two.

Annabeth sighed sadly. "That's what I get for being stuck in this year," she muttered. "You'd think that a Brain like me would be able to move on, but nooo, apparently I'm supposed to stick with my age group."

"Do you always talk to yourself like this?"

Annabeth yelped and swung her knife, barely missing poor Percy, who ducked just in time.

"What did I do now?!" he cried.

"Oh, it's you." Annabeth put the knife down and sighed.

"You sound disappointed."

Annabeth's mouth curled into a smile. "Nope. More like annoyed. I should've taken your head clean off your shoulders."

"Is that a challenge?"

"Bring it on, Seaweed Brain."

Percy snatched a nearby sword and pointed it at her. "You'll be sorry."

"Please. I'd like to see you actually make me say sorry."

Percy swung at Annabeth with full force, his grin making it obvious that he was enjoying this.

Duck.

Annabeth jumped into the air, and, using Percy's back for support, flung herself even higher. She smiled, silently thanking Rachel for the gymnastics lessons.

Landing in a crouch, Annabeth smiled, but it quickly faded as she noticed Percy quickly coming in on her right.

Roll.

The moment Annabeth was out of danger, she leapt back up and swiftly swung her knife, carefully aiming for an exposed part of Percy's wrist.

Slash.

"Hey!" one of the trainers yelled. "No fighting with the boys unless it's in the arena!"

Annabeth smirked and sheathed her knife. "Looks like your butt just got saved, Seaweed Brain." She turned around and started to walk away.

"Wait, Annabeth," Percy called.

"Hmm?"

"There was a reason I came over to talk to you."

"Oh, you mean besides getting your butt kicked?" Annabeth tilted her head. "Okay. Shoot."

Percy rubbed his neck, and Annabeth frowned, studying his face. She hadn't learned much about body language (yet. She wouldn't be learning it till senior year), but she was pretty sure he was nervous.

Of course, even the biggest idiot could tell you that.

"Well, you know that Moonlight Ball they have at the end of the games?"

Annabeth smiled. "Yeah. It's rumored to be one of the most enchanting nights here at Merriweather. Some even say it's in the ruins of the Secret Garden!" Her smile grew bigger. "I'd give _anything _to be allowed onto the ruins! The buildings that once stood there must of been amazing!"

Percy gave her a confused smile. "Ah, okay. I know this is a little early, but, I, uh, was actually hoping if...you...um..."

"ANNABETH!" a voice yelled. The two turned to see Katie and Rachel, standing there, waving like idiots.

"We need your help with something!" Rachel called.

Annabeth sighed. "What?"

"Thalia got her fist stuck in the wall again!" Katie said, sounding like this happened everyday, and was getting sick of it.

Percy looked at them warily. "You're saying this is a _normal _thing?"

"Well, sure," Rachel said dismissivly. "She's been getting it stuck in the wall since we started sharing a dorm since the fifth grade."

"No, that was when you joined us," Annabeth corrected. "She's been doing that since we came when I was seven."

"Psh. Same thing," Rachel scoffed.

"I'll be right there." Annabeth turned back to Percy. "What were you going to say?"

Percy opened his mouth, but then closed it again. "Nothing," he finally muttered. "Have fun getting Thalia's fist out of that wall."

Annabeth gave him a dry smile. "Will do."

She didn't miss the disappointed look on his face.

* * *

"And you two _walked in_?!"

Rachel backed away in terror from Silena. "It's not like we knew that he was talking to her!"

Silena's nostrils flared. Even when she was furious, she was still really pretty. Next to her, Piper was trying to calm her down, muttering, "It's okay, it's okay."

"It's _not _okay!" Silena snarled at Piper, who jumped away in surprise.

Silena spun to Annabeth, staring at her with furious eyes. Annabeth winced, backing up towards the wall.

"You say that he brought up the Moonlight Dance?" she asked Annabeth sharply.

"Yeah. The ruins are supposed to be amazing during the full moon," Annabeth noted, a small smile appearing on her face.

"FORGET ABOUT THE RUINS!" Silena screeched. "He was obviously trying to ask you out!"

"Seaweed Brain?" Thalia snorted. "Please. He's not smart enough to think that far ahead. Besides, it's not important, anyway. If anything, Rachel and Katie _saved _Annabeth."

Silena swiveled to face Thalia. Even the usually fearless Leader was terrified of Silena's wrath. And with her fist still stuck in the wall, she wasn't going to be able to defend herself that well.

"Not important?" Silena asked, her voice dangerously quiet. "_Saved _her?"

Clarisse winced. "She's dead."

Hazel, who had been silently giggling behind her hand, nodded in agreement. She hadn't known the girl very long, but looking at her now, it was clear that Silena could be scary when she wanted to be.

"Annabeth was going to be asked out by a boy she obviously likes-"

"I don't like him!"

"-and he obviously likes her back-"

"No, he doesn't!" Annabeth insisted.

"-and then Rachel and Katie walked right in on them when he was going to ask her out-"

"I told you we didn't know!" Katie cried.

"And he wasn't going to ask me out!"

"-and you're telling me it's _NOT IMPORTANT?!"_

Silena lunged at Thalia. With a shriek, Rachel jumped up to tackle her fellow Sneak to the ground, and Katie ran over to help.

Reyna raised an eyebrow at Annabeth. "Does this happen often?"

Annabeth shrugged. "More or less."

"GET MY FIST OUT OF THIS WALL!" Thalia shouted, watching the angry girl try to push Rachel and Katie off of her.

Hazel was trying to fight back a smile. And failing.

"Isn't the green team supposed to be performing today?" Piper asked quickly, trying to change the subject.

Hazel grimaced. "Isn't Drew on that team?"

"Who's Drew?" Rachel inquired.

"I met her a few days ago," Annabeth mumbled. "She said I shouldn't be talking to the enemy. Her tone made it clear she thought I was _flirting _with him. _Flirting. _With _Seaweed Brain. _She doesn't have a single ounce of brain cells in her head! At least Seaweed Brain can rely on the seaweed in his head!"

Piper winced. "I have to live with her."

Thalia gaped at Piper. "Drew's your sister?" she cried. "I once sat next to her in Ancient War class. She would _not _shut up!"

"Half sister," Piper corrected with a growl. "If there's one thing we can agree on, it's that we cannot stand each other. She's so stuck-up and annoying!"

"I...am so sorry," Silena mumbled from her spot on the ground, her anger momentarily forgotten in her moment of sympathy for Piper.

Piper sighed. "So am I. So am I."

_"Attention students!" _Sophia's voice blared. _"It's time to rise and shine! The next event is sword-fighting, and the competors today will be the greens! Get ready everyone, and be sure to keep _sharp!" Sophia giggled at her own little joke, and then her voice faded completly.

Reyna glanced outside. "The Headmistress...seems like a bit of an airhead."

Silena struggled to sit up, but Katie and Rachel refused to get off of her. "I like her better than Cara," she said, her voice muffled.

Hazel seemed to tense next to Annabeth. The blonde Brain looked at Hazel with slight suspicion, but then shrugged it off. There was nothing wrong with the girl; she was a little bit younger than Annabeth, but that wasn't any reason to suspect her of anything suspicious.

_**I'm over-thinking again.**_

"Maybe if Percy is on the green team, then maybe he and Drew can fight. I'd _love _to see two little girls fight." Thalia snickered.

"Thalia, no matter how stupid he is, he's not a little girl," Annabeth chidded half-heartedly.

Her best friend narrowed her eyes at the Brain. "Are you serious? _Please_ tell me that you don't actually like Percy and that Silena was right."

"I do _not _like Seaweed Brain. At all."

"Good." Thalia snorted. "The last thing we need is a lovesick idiot. I mean, who needs love at a place like Merriweather?"

Silena grew rigid on the floor.

"Who...needs love?" her voice echoed. Thalia paled, and Katie and Rachel were thrown off, and an even more enraged Silena stood, her face turning pink with rage.

"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU, THALIA GRACE!" Silena shrieked.

Thalia turned to Annabeth. "Annabeth, get my fist out of this wall!"

* * *

Half an hour later, after Thalia's fist was removed from the wall and Silena had calmed down, the girls started to make their way down to the arena.

"It's too bad that I'm not competing in this part of the games," Clarisse muttered. "I'd _kill _my opponet."

"Hopefully not literally," Piper cut in flatly.

Clarisse waved her hand dismissivly. "Details, details," she said, clearly bored.

"Besides," Rachel added, "I don't want to compete in 'the sacred art of sword fighting'. I want to compete in the gymnastics part of the games!"

"Gymnastics?" Clarisse asked in disbelief. "You don't use any fighting skills in there!"

"It's called agility," Piper said. "Learn it."

Clarisse narrowed her eyes at the girl. "Say that again to my fist. Let's see how brave you are then, huh?"

Thalia snapped her fingers in front of Clarisse's face. "Shut up. They're our roommates." Though she said this, her voice wobbled slightly. Annabeth knew that the thought of having roommates that weren't her, Rachel, or Bianca clearly bothered Thalia.

Annabeth put a hand on Thalia's shoulder. "Come on," she said, tugging gently. "Let's go-"

"Watch the girl side of the greens lose miserably?" Piper snorted. "Yes. I am definetly looking foreward to _that."_

Before Annabeth could open her mouth, the group walked on ahead, leaving her behind.

She still hadn't told them about the hat.

Annabeth felt guilty. She still hadn't told Thalia or Rachel about the hat. But that was only because the others were around. It's not that she didn't trust Clarisse, Katie, or Silena, but Thalia and Rachel were her closest friends. She barely knew Piper, Reyna, and Hazel, so there was no way she had any idea of knowing if they were trustworthy or not.

Besides, something about this whole thing made Annabeth feel that those three had something to do with it. And it didn't have anything to do with the hat.

* * *

"Oooh! And there goes Will Solace of the boys green team to the ground! This round's champion- Lacy Summers!"

The girl's bleachers were a mix of cheering and laughter. Lacy was a petite eighth grader, small for her age, but a natural for blending in. She would be sorted into the Sneaks by the end of the year.

"Next up...Drew McLean and-" the announcer rattled off a name that Annabeth didn't recognize or pay attention to as she watched Piper carefully.

Piper's mouth was curled in a snarl, her eyes narrowed to slits. Annabeth recalled that Piper's last name was McLean, and the fact that she had definetly heard it somewhere before. She figured that if Drew was her half-sister that she couldn't stand, then Piper would hate to have to share the same last name as her, too.

Annabeth turned her gaze to the match just as the ref yelled, "BEGIN!"

The boy Drew was going against was clearly skilled in swordsmanship. Annabeth squinted, but she couldn't see his features. Only that he had long, dark hair and dark green eyes.

Something was wrong.

Annabeth's eyes narrowed. Instinctivly, her ears tuned out the loud roar of the stadium.

Words. She was hearing words. And they were coming from the arena where Drew and the boy were fighting.

_You don't want to hurt me, _it was saying. _You want to put the sword down. You want to curl up and rest. You want me to win._

The boy stumbled a little, as though he were losing his balance. Annabeth could sense confusion. As she flicked her gaze away from them, the roar of the crowd returned. She looked amongst her friends, but no one seemed to have noticed.

Except Piper.

The girl had her fists clenched, and she was muttering, "That stupid idiot. What is she thinking?" under her breath.

The boy fell to the ground, as though having a wild spasm. For a moment, the entire arena quieted, completly stunned. Drew pressed the tip of her sword to the boy's chest.

"I win," she announced loudly. Annabeth opened her mouth to yell out her agreement, when-

A knife came out of nowhere, stabbing the girl in the arm.


	10. Spies

**Alright, everyone! Due to a popular question, I shall ask you all this:**

**Do you want "Ask the Character" back? Leave your answers in your reviews, and if you answer 'yes' leave your questions!**

**Note: If you ask spoiler questions, I am not allowed to give you specific information. Or, if you ask "Do you like (insert name here)?" then it wouldn't exactly be fair if they say yes in "Ask the Character" and not in the story. You feel me? **

**I DO NOT OWN PERCY JACKSON. UNLESS RICK RIORDAN HANDS OVER THE RIGHTS TO ME. *pauses* YUP, UNLESS RICK RIORDAN HANDS IT TO ME.**

**Oh, one more thing!**

**In just a few short days, on November 19, 2012, Boys vs. Girls will be offically one year old! Don't forget to say happy birthday that day!**

* * *

The whole place was in an uproar for the rest of the day. Drew was carried was to the infirmary to treat her arm, and ever since, the Headmistress and Headmaster cancelled any other activities for the day and demanded that everyone go to bed early.

"I don't get it," Piper said to her roommates that same night. "Who would try to kill one of the competitors? I mean, Drew's annoying, but not annoying enough to be killed."

"That's what you think," Thalia mumbled.

"Guys, be serious!" Annabeth snapped. "We have an almost murderer in our school! How can you guys be joking at a time like this?"

"Easy," Rachel responded. "We're doing it right now, aren't we?"

Annabeth planted her face into her pillow, saying something along the lines of "I'm surrounded by idiots".

"No, Annabeth is right," Reyna said. "There is something odd going on, probably more than we know."

Annabeth lifted her head, her expression grim. Thalia and Rachel shared similar expressions. This reminded them of a year ago.

One year ago...Cara. The three exchanged looks. They knew exactly what was going on.

"Annabeth, Rachel." Thalia stood up. "Come with me. I just remembered something."

Hazel, who had been silent the entire time, stared up at them. "What?"

"None of your buisness," Thalia responded, opening the door. The three quickly exited and shut it behind them and began to walk down the corrider.

"We need to talk to Percy and Nico," Rachel whispered.

"No way," Thalia hissed. "It was humiliating enough to ask for help last year. No way am I doing it again!"

Annabeth scowled. "As much as I hate to admit it, Rachel is right."

"Thank you Anna-HEY!"

"We do need help from them, whether we like it or not," Annabeth continued, as though Rachel hadn't spoken. "Percy and Nico are the only ones who know truly what Cara and Z were up to. And don't you remember? Cara said they had 'friends'." She made air quotes on the word 'friends'.

"So what? It's not like they're going to risk re-building the Raser Laser," Thalia snorted. "Besides, unless there's a spy, there's no way there's any information on the death of Z and Cara, or anyone else."

"I don't think there's a spy," Rachel whispered. "What if...someone escaped?"

Thalia's eyes widened, and she shook her head angrily. "No! No one could have escaped a blast that powerful! We were lucky the safety tunnel was strong enough to keep us alive! No one escaped! They're dead, every last one of them!"

Annabeth and Rachel were quiet. Thalia realized she was yelling, and took a deep breath. "We don't need help, okay?"

Rachel sighed. "Thalia, as much as I hate to admit this..."

Thalia smirked, thinking she had won the arguement.

Key word: Thinking.

"...no, actually, I don't. You're wrong." Rachel took off down the hall, Annabeth close behind. It took Thalia five seconds to realize what happened.

"HEY!" she yelled, racing after them, totally oblivious to the fact that there were a more footsteps behind her.

* * *

"I keep telling you there's nothing there," Leo snapped, getting fed up with Frank's constant check-ups at the window.

"But I'm telling you, I heard something," Frank argued.

"Go to _sleep _already," Nico groaned.

There was another tap. Frank opened the window, and fell back, startled at what he saw.

"Frank?" Leo asked, getting up from his bed. "What's up with you?" He peered out the window.

"Hi!" Rachel said cheerfully, her red hair tumbling around her, considering she was upside down.

Leo let out a yelp and fell on top of Frank. "W-W-what the-?!"

"Oh, sorry. Did I scare you?" Rachel asked, smiling brightly.

Leo instantly regained his composure and stood up. "And what do I owe the pleasure of a mysterious young beauty outside my window?"

Rachel frowned, trying to determine whether or not he was joking. "Can I come in? I need to talk to some people."

Leo grinned. "Of course, m'lady."

"Try anything, you little runt, and I'll beat you to a bloody pulp before you can say 'Ow'," Thalia's voice snapped.

Nico stood up abruptly. "What are you guys doing here?" he asked suspiciously.

Rachel, who finally managed her way inside the room, helped Annabeth climb in the room, glanced at him. "Where's Percy?"

Nico pointed to another bed, where a huge lump lay, snoring quietly. "Now answer my question."

"We need your help with something." Thalia's face appeared.

"Woah," Leo breathed. "And how can I help you?"

Thalia glared at him. "Help me inside, if you please. And don't butt in. This job is for Percy and Nico alone." She glanced around, and her voice softened. "Isn't there someone else rooming with you?"

"Jason?" Leo asked. "He's not here right now. Went to talk to Headmaster Brunner."

"I see." Her voice hardened. "Annabeth, wake up Sleepy Head over there." She jerked a thumb in Percy's direction and turned to Nico. "Come with us."

"Uh...why?" Percy's voice asked sleepily. He had just woken up, and seemed perfectly content with Annabeth holding him up so he wouldn't fall back on the bed.

"That's what we'd like to know."

The three girls turned to see Piper, Reyna, and Hazel, their arms crossed. Reyna was currently holding Leo back with her hand, her expression annoyed. Whether it was meant for them or Leo, Annabeth wasn't sure.

"Really, ditching us to sneak into a boy's room?" Piper asked, sounding amused. "I didn't know you guys were-"

Annabeth flushed red. "It's not like that!"

"We know," Hazel assured her, elbowing Piper in the ribs. "It has something to do with Drew getting stabbed, right?"

Rachel stared at her. "Why do you say that?" she asked suspiciously.

Hazel shrugged. "Just a guess?"

"We want to help, is the point," Reyna interjected.

"If it means assisting you lovely young ladies, then it will be our pleasure," Leo said, bowing to Reyna, who rolled her eyes. Next to him, Frank sighed.

Thalia gave them the evil eye. "It has nothing to do with you." To Nico, she whisperd, "We think this has something to do with Cara."

"But she's dead," he hissed back.

"Not her friends."

Hazel stiffened. "Cara. The Headmistress from last year?"

"Yeah," Thalia muttered. "She died in the tunnels. Even if she hadn't, she would've been arrested to kidnapping one of the students and attempt to kill us."

Hazel stood up, her fists clenched. "Then we are so helping you."

Thalia scowled. "I never said-"

"Look, I haven't known you that long, but I want to help." Hazel looked at the floor. "I can't explain why, but please, please please please let me help!"

Piper put a hand on Hazel's shoulder. "Hey, calm down, Hazel. They don't understand, either."

"Okay, I'm not exactly sure what happened, last year," Frank said, "but if you need help, then I guess we will."

Nico shrugged. "They're the ones that came here. You call it. I don't care."

Annabeth nodded, and Rachel gave her the thumbs up.

"I need to go save Princess Annabeth from the evil sea monster, for I am Lord Seaweed Brain, king of the Great Barrier Reef," Percy mumbled, earning a few snickers from the people around him.

Thalia sighed. "Fine," she said. "This is the plan..."

* * *

"She really does have the knack for being a Leader, huh?" Leo mused.

"Hence the name 'Leader'," Reyna snapped, rolling her eyes. "Now shut up. We're supposed to be keeping watch."

"Yes, of course." Leo leaned against the wall and stared at her.

Reyna glared at him. "Watch the corriders, not me, you idiot!"

"But I can't help it," Leo whined. "You're a lot more fun to watch then a bunch of stupid hallways."

Hazel giggled, and Leo gave her a grin. "See? Even Hazel agrees with me."

The girl suddenly frowned, slowly inching away from the others. "I'm going to find Frank," she blurted. "See why he hasn't come back yet."

"Okay," Leo said, shrugging. Reyna gave Hazel a pleading stare, probably thinking _Don't leave me alone with this idiot!_

Hazel gave her friend an apologetic smile and raced down the corrider, turning left. They couldn't be here...they couldn't...they promised!

But then again, she did, too. And she had broken that promise. They warned her...they warned her that they would come for her...

Hazel glanced around her. There was nothing except the large, empty shadows.

Oh, what was she thinking, leaving alone?! She had to get back, and quickly. Frank would have returned by now, wouldn't he?

Yes, of couse.

An arm circled her waist, and Hazel felt shivers down her spine as a voice whispered, "Scream and I'll gut you like a fish," before covering her mouth.

* * *

Annabeth was tapping away on a small keyboard, her eyes glued to the screen. "Come on, crack already, you stupid high-tech security system."

"What are you doing?" Percy asked, yawning, still half-asleep. "The Lord Seaweed Brain must return with Princess Annabeth to the feast..."

"What was that?" Annabeth asked, looking at him. Next to her, Rachel giggled.

"Nothing," Percy said, snapping awake instantly.

"O...kay." Annabeth gave him a strange look before returning her attention to the screen. She grinned triumphetly. "Yes! I breached the security code."

"Awesome," Rachel said. "So tell me, why're we breaching the security code?"

"Because then we can see the people who were within throwing range of the knife," Annabeth told her. "I always knew that these security cameras could one day come in handy." She pressed a button on her cell-phone. "What's the status, Thalia?"

"From the looks of the arena, the only way someone could have been able to throw a knife with such force would have to be in the very front row," Thalia's voice answered. "But since we didn't get such a good look at the knife, I can't tell."

"Right." Annabeth nodded at Rachel, who pulled out her own cell-phone and dialed a number.

"Piper? Did you find it?"

"Yeah. It _so _wasn't easy. The Evidence Locker was crawling with guards. Do you know how many pressure points I had to hit?"

Rachel was about to respond, but Annabeth snatched the phone away from her. "Not the point," she said sharply. "The knife?"

"Yeah. It's pretty simple, so it'd have to be fired at a pretty close range."

"Got it," Annabeth said, flipping through a few snapshots. Rachel examined them closely, trying to decide what was strange about each one.

"There!" Rachel pointed at a snapshot. It was a section from the boy's row, and there, was...well, a boy.

"What about it?" Annabeth asked, squinting.

"It's kind of hard to tell, considering this is black and white, but you can see a tiny slash of a bright color right there," Rachel said, pointing to his leg. "Besides, I've never seen this boy before."

Knowing well enough not to question a Sneak's memory, Annabeth nodded. "Yeah. I haven't, either. Percy, do you know this guy?"

Percy peered at the screen. "I've never seen him before."

"Besides, look at his face." Rachel squinted. Underneath his right eye is a patch of skin slightly darker than the rest of it. Total sign of cover-up. Maybe he's hiding something?"

Annabeth took a deep breath. "Anything else?"

"He's wearing a wig," Rachel said. "You see? It's dark, but on this side near his temple, it's a ton paler. He could be a blonde, most likely. And either he's trying to hide a tell-tale birthmark or a scar."

Percy stared at the two girls. "So, in other words...?"

Annabeth turned to face him, a grim expression on her face. "There's a spy in the school."


	11. Spying on the Spy

**Happy birthday, Boys vs. Girls! I can't believe a full year has gone by. Time flies, huh?**

**And seriously, no comments on the "Ask the Character" thing? Well, sadly, I cannot do "Ask the Character" without any questions to answer. D: So leave some questions, people, if you have any!**

**I do not own PJO! **

**And type "The Magical Unicorn of Wonderland" if you read this AN! Please? It'd make me happy! *pouts***

* * *

"A spy," Thalia repeated for the seventh time the next day. She was sitting on a stone bench in the Western Garden, her eyes fixed on the rose bush before her. "A spy."

"Yes, Thalia," Annabeth said calmly. "A spy."

"In the school." Her voice sounded flat.

"Yup," Rachel piped up.

"And it's a boy," Thalia continued, her voice devoid of emotion.

"That pretty much covers it," Annabeth told her, nodding.

Thalia swore in several different languages. "I knew it!" she hissed. "I knew nothing good would come out of this, trusting _boys _to come to Merriweather!" She kicked the stone bench, not even wincing as her toe collided with the hard material.

"Hey!" Percy objected. "We're not that bad, right?" He gestured to himself and Nico.

Thalia stared at Nico, then Percy, before turning back around and saying, "I told you we couldn't trust boys." She ignored Percy's indignant cries of protest.

Nico scowled. "I know you're upset about losing your friend, but-"

"I should let you know that our friend was _your _sister!" Thalia shouted at him, her face turning red with anger. "Don't you care that the only one who cared for you half your life is dead now?!"

"Of course I care!" Nico yelled back, standing up. His eyes were dark with fury. "Don't you dare say I don't care, okay?! She was the only thing I had to a family, and now she's gone! So of course I care, you crazy black-haired devil!"

Rachel stepped in between them, shoving them in opposite directions just as Thalia opened her mouth to retort. "The two of you, stop it," she ordered. "We can't argue amongst each other when the real enemy is watching our school! Whether we like it or not, we've been through a lot together, and we're a team. Both boys." She glared at Thalia. "And girls." She turned her angry gaze to Nico.

Annabeth nodded. "Rachel is right. We can't afford to argue with each other. We need to work together and try to find out this spy." She pulled out the black-and-white photo of the boy they had seen the night before. "So far, this is the prime suspect of being the spy and throwing the knife at Drew," she announced. "We need to locate him in the school and see what he knows."

"But if he's really a spy, then he knows about us, right?" Rachel asked. "As a Sneak, I'd happily spy on him, but...you know, he might already know about me. Or us."

"And that," Annabeth said, smiling slightly, "is the beauty of my idea."

Percy whispered to Nico, "You see that look in her eye? Why don't I ever get that look?"

"Because you're you," Nico responded flatly.

* * *

"So, you want us to spy on him for you," Piper said slowly, gesturing to herself and Hazel. It was later that day,

Thalia nodded. "Yeah, pretty much."

Reyna studied the picture Annabeth had given her. "I think I've seen this boy before," she said. "He's possibly on the boy's green team."

"The same team Drew was on," Rachel mused.

Piper furrowed her brow. "I don't know," she said slowly. "I guess that if we have actual proof, I would go up to him and thank him."

"We have actual proof!" Thalia argued.

"No, Piper's right," Annabeth said. "All we have is a picture and a hunch." She leaned against the wall. "Besides, even if we report this to the Headmistress, I don't think she'll believe us without true solid evidence."

"The element of surprise is our best weapon," Hazel said quietly.

"Exactly," Thalia said eagerly. "Will you help us?"

Piper opened her mouth, but Hazel beat her to it. "I'll help. I don't know about those two," she said.

Reyna looked at Piper and shrugged. The girl nodded and fiddled with a strand of brown hair.

"We'll help," Piper finally told them. Just then, Annabeth's cell-phone rang.

"What's up?" she said, not bothering to look at the name.

"How'd you know it was me?" Percy's voice asked, sounding surprised.

"I didn't," Annabeth admitted. "Just wanted to try that."

"Haha," he grumped.

Annabeth smiled. "So, did you need something?" She frowned. "Wait, how did you get my number? I don't remember giving it to you."

"I found the suspect," he told her, avoiding her second question.

"Great!" She thrust the phone towards Hazel and Piper. "Tell them!"

Piper grabbed the phone and held it between her ear and Hazel's. "Okay, lover boy," she said to the phone. "Spill it. Who're we gonna stalk today?"

"Lover boy?" was Percy's confused reply.

"Percy!" Thalia snapped. "Don't go stupid on us now! Just answer the freaking question!"

"Right, right." Percy told them the name, and Annabeth took her phone back.

"We'll keep you guys posted," she said.

"Hey, why can't we help too?" Leo's voice whined. Annabeth snapped the phone shut, before frowning at it.

"Huh," she mused. "I didn't ask him how he got my number."

* * *

"Target is on the move," Piper whispered into her earpiece, watching a figure move from her hiding spot in one of the many secret passages of Merriweather.

The "target" was named Jack Hill, about a year older than the girls. Currently, he was walking towards the library and writing something in his notebook. As he did, he passed a girl wearing sunglasses reading a book. What he didn't notice, however, was that the sunglasses had a small camera on it, and it was currently pointing at him. The poor boy was completly oblivious he was being stalked by two Sneaks, who were, sadly for him, pretty darn good at their job.

"It looks like a bunch of notes, but I can't tell for what," Hazel said quietly, trying not to alert the boy. She paused for a few moments, before saying, "Target is now in the library. I'm going in."

"Rodger that," was Piper's only response. In the walls, there was a scuffling noise. If Hazel didn't know any better, she would've assumed there were rats in the wall.

Re-adjusting her glasses, she stood up and also entered the library, following him at a fair distance. It was incredibly hard to follow someone who was trained at a school like Merriweather and Charlesfield, and Hazel was required to be more careful than she usually was, which irritated her greatly. How hard could it possibly be to spy on a boy?

"Can I help you, dear?" a librarian asked. By the tone of her voice, it sounded like she would rather smack Hazel with the book in her hand rather then help her.

"No thank you, Ms. Lutz," Hazel told her. "I can find what I'm looking for on my own."

"I should hope so," Ms. Lutz grumbled. "I can't stand another stupid child in my library today. Honestly, what was that boy thinking? Asking for so many books...could've broken my spine!"

Hazel ignored the librarian's ramblings and walked away. Of course, by now, the Target was well out of sight. Hazel cursed her stupidity and forced herself to remain calm as her eyes scanned the other shelves.

"Well?" Piper's voice asked.

"I got stopped by the librarian," she murmured. "I lost the Target."

"Ugh," was Piper's only responce.

"I'm really, really sorry!" Hazel whispered frantically. "I really didn't mean-"

"Who are you talking to?"

"GAH!" Hazel jumped in surprise and fell over. Behind her was the Target, Jack Hill. She landed painfully on her butt, and a loose book fell over and hit her on the head.

"Ow," Hazel grumbled, rubbing her head, before remembering where she was.

Jack stared at her. "Um, are you okay?"

Hazel laughed nervously. "Oh, of course! Just fine, just fine. Couldn't be any better." She started to inch away slowly. "I should really get going, so-"

"Not until you tell me why you were following me," he told her, eyes narrowing.

Hazel's mouth dropped open. "I was?" she asked dumbly. Her mind worked furiously for an excuse.

"Do you think I'm stupid or something?" Jack demanded. "Of course I know you were!"

"I was not!" Hazel shot back, feeling her face warm. "In case you didn't know, this library is open for everyone in the school, so don't flatter yourself!"

Okay, so she was following him. But not for the reason that he was probably thinking! Hazel resisted the urge to shudder in disgust and kept her angry glare on him.

"If you excuse me," she huffed, "I have to go finish some homework." With that, she turned and stalked away, the sound of Piper's laughter in her ears. Or rather, ear.

"Did you hear all of that?" Hazel whispered.

Piper laughed even harder. "Yup," she answered, popping the 'P'. "And so did everyone else in the room."

* * *

"It wasn't funny!" Hazel snapped, glaring at the laughing faces of her roommates.

"Actually, it is," Rachel gasped, wiping a stray tear from her eye. "It's very, very funny."

"To us!" Piper cackled.

Thalia stopped laughing for a moment, her expression thoughtful. "Well, this actually benifits us," she mused.

"How?" Annabeth asked.

"Well, if he already caught you spying on him, then he might assume your some lovesick girl with a crush on him," the Leader reasoned, before cracking up again.

Hazel's face heated up. "Shut up! All of you! It wasn't even funny!"

The only one who wasn't laughing, Reyna, nodded. "She's right, you know," she told them. "If this mission is as important as you think it is, now is not the time to joke."

The others stopped laughing at once.

"The three of us," Reyna gestured to herself, Hazel, and Piper, "don't have all the details to what happened last year. All we know is that Cara had kidnapped one of the students to build the Raser Laser."

Piper snickered at the name.

"We don't know why," Reyna continued, "but apparently you do. And whatever the reason is, it seems you don't want us to know. We have just gotten involved, but I think we have a right to know."

_**Correction, Reyna,** _Hazel thought sadly, _**you two just got involved.**_But Hazel didn't say anything.

Annabeth nodded. "They're right, you know," she told Thalia. "They're involved already, so they should know."

Thalia scowled. "Fine." She turned to the three. "If you want the full story, then you better sit down."

"We already are," Piper pointed out.

"That's not the point!" Thalia snapped.

Reyna shot Piper a glare. "Go ahead," she told the black-haired girl."

Thalia sighed. It seemed to Hazel like this wasn't going to be easy for her. "It started one year ago, when Bianca was late on this day to come back before curfew..."

Of course, she knew the story. But she didn't say that. She couldn't.

And she wouldn't.

Not as long as she could avoid it.

Unknown to her, Annabeth was watching Hazel carefully. The girl showed all the signs of thoughtfullness; she wasn't listening to a word Thalia was saying. The blonde Brain narrowed her eyes.

_**She's hiding something,**_she thought.

Everyone had their secrets, and Annabeth respected that. But something about Hazel didn't give Annabeth comfort. The girl was clearly hiding something bigger than who her latest crush was.

_**And whatever it is, I'm going to find out.**_Her hand travelled to the pocket of her uniform skirt, where the baseball cap resided.

_**Sophia gave this to me for a reason. And it looks like I'm going to find out that reason, whether I like it or not. **_


	12. The Clothes Theif

**You will not believe what happened. After assembly, on Friday one of my friends noticed that my teacher had a ring on her finger, so she asked if she was engaged. And, guess what, she is! Our entire class spent half the morning talking about it. I'm really happy for my teacher. So, yay for her! **

**Though, it's kinda weird. She told us that when she gets married in the summer, she's going to legally change her name to his. I'm still gonna call her Ms. (insert last name here that I won't tell for fear of getting sued for random reasons that I don't know but since I don't understand the law I won't take any chances). The only thing different is that she's gonna be Mrs. (insert that long wordy thing I put up earlier)**

**I don't own PJO. I'm REALLY sorry this chapter is kind of boring, but I'll try to make it up for later chapters! I swear! I REALLY REALLY DO! **

* * *

_Spying on the Spy, Day 2; a log by Annabeth Chase, sophomore Brain._

_After yesterday's failure, Piper (Sneak) was sent instead of Hazel (Sneak). Target (Jack Hill) seems to have caught onto what was going on, and travelled with a large group, so Sneak on duty was not able to confront him. Even when he's alone, Target seems to be very wary and watching out for us (and by "us", I mean Hazel)._

_Thalia (Leader) is getting increasingly frustrated. Insists on sending Rachel (Sneak) instead of new roommates (Reyna [Leader], Piper, and Hazel), but Reyna keeps on arguing that he would know what Rachel looks like if he worked for Cara, and, as a Leader, that Thalia should know this._

_Thalia promptly told Reyna to stuff it._

_After a rather loud argument (including some _productive _words that Thalia has started learning in Advanced Latin), we headed out for dinner. When we sat down, Silena (Sneak) said, "Hazel, I think you have an admirer. Someone's looking this way."_

_(In case it wasn't obvious, the 'admirer' Silena was referring to was the Target)._

_It seems like the tables are now being turned, because Hazel claimed to have seen the Target watching her when coming from the library after working on an essay for class. Now it seems we have to spy on the spy who's spying on us. _

_On a totally unrelated subject, I still have to figure out how Seaweed Brain got my phone number._

After several days of waiting, the Games finally started back up again. Of course, everyone was thoroughly searched for weapons of any kind. The metal chain Thalia wore with her uniform was confiscated, much to her annoyance. At the moment, she was currently sulking in the bleachers, waiting for the black team, which was the team that Katie was on.

"Don't they know that we saved the world last year?" she mumbled. Annabeth elbowed her in the ribs to shush her, watching for the girl's black team. It just so happened that Katie was on that team.

"Alright everyone!" Sophia's voice called cheerfully over the speakerphones. "It's time to get started on today's challenge; the gymnastics course!"

Rachel pouted. "Aww man," she whined. "I wanted to do gymnastics!"

Silena sighed. "Katie's pretty flexible, but...I wanted to perform the gymnastics part!"

"Will you two quit whining?" Clarisse groaned. "I can't hear myself think."

"First up," Headmaster Brunner's voice called, "the boy's black team!"

Boys dressed in black T-shirts came running up from the boy's bleachers. Their cheers were almost as loud as the girl's booed and jeered.

"And now...the girl's black team!" Sophia cried.

Nothing happened.

"The girl's black team!" Sophia repeated.

There was no movement. Everything was silent except for the roar of laughter from the boy's bleacher.

"It seems there are some... _difficulties_ with the changing room," Sophia's voice said, sounding slightly sheepish. Annabeth's eyes widened, and she glanced at Thalia and Rachel, who wore similar expressions. The last time there had been 'difficulties' at Merriweather, the Chemistry Lab had exploded and was not available for two years.

They had Silena to thank for that.

Annabeth quickly leapt up, followed shortly by Thalia, Rachel, Silena, and Clarisse. They took off, leaving behind the very confused new girls of the group.

"Do you think Katie's okay?" Thalia called to her friends.

"I hope the girl's changing room didn't explode," Silena fretted as they reached the bottom of the bleachers. They turned right and entered a room marked 'GIRLS CHANGING ROOM', which, to their surprise, was unlocked. They didn't dwell on it, however, as they entered the room. Inside, girls were running around, calling, "Where're my clothes?" and tearing through each others things. To top it all off, they were all in their underclothes.

It was utter chaos.

Rachel stared, slack-jawed. "What happened?!" she cried.

Annabeth looked around, finally locating the girl they were looking for. "Katie!" she cried, weaving through the mass of barely clothed bodies and running towards her. "What happened?"

The Maker's face was bent in anger. "There was a blackout in here," she hissed. "It was like that for several minutes, and when the lights _finally _came back on, our clothes were gone! Our uniforms, our regular clothes, our Game clothes." She buried her face in her hands. "Everything!"

Silena eyed the area suspiciously. "How many Sneaks are on this team?" she asked.

Katie furrowed her brow. "Um, not very many. The few who are Sneaks are aren't properly trained."

"Figures," Rachel sighed. She walked over to a nearby locker and pointed at it. "Who's using this?" she called.

No one answered.

"I thought so." Without much difficulty, Rachel opened the locker, and, inside, was a boy, a bag clutched to his chest.

For a moment, there was a stunned silence. The boy blinked his eyes in wonder, looking around. "Where am I?" he mumbled, rubbing his head. "All I remember...is this beautiful white light, and this angelic voice calling to me..."

"Cut the act," Silena said dryly. "We know you're lying."

The boy rolled his eyes. "Can't blame me for trying, huh?" he asked dryly. He walked out of the locker and dusted himself off. "If you don't mind..."

One of the girls on the black team ripped the bag from his hand. "Leaving so soon?" she sneered, unzipping the bag and turning it upside down. A huge clump of clothes fell out. Clothing that oh-so convienently belonged to the girls of the black team.

The boy grinned lazily. "So I stole the clothes," he told them with a shrug. "Haven't pulled a joke since I came here with my twin who LEFT ME BEHIND!" He yelled the last three words at the door, as though his supposed twin could hear him. He sighed and turned to face the girls, who were growing angry, and fast. "Besides," he added, "I couldn't _wait _to see some exotic beauties." His eyes roamed the room, before finally landing on Katie. His grin grew wider, more perverted. "Seems like I found her."

Thalia cracked her knuckles, along with Clarisse and a few other Leaders who weren't overly embarressed. "You either leave on your own free will or in an ambulence," the black-haired girl hissed. "Either way is fine with me, though I strongly recommend the latter."

The boy seemed to think about it, rubbing his chin, before slowly shaking his head. "I think I'll pass," he responded, shrugging again as he walked over to the exit. Then, sending another grin over his shoulder, he called, "By the way, the name's Stoll. Travis Stoll." Catching Katie's eye again, he winked before walking out.

Needless to say, once the girls dressed and headed out to the arena, they took their anger out on the boys black team. They were squashed like bugs. Poor things never stood a chance.

* * *

The air grew chilly as the day wore on. He drew the thick coat over him tightly, trying to block out the cold. As he stood there, waiting, waiting, waiting, his mind wandered back towards earlier. Things...hadn't exactly gone to plan. She wasn't going to like this.

"Well?"

The voice took him by surprise, but he didn't show it. He refused to show it. He still had some dignity left in him.

"I don't have all day," the voice snapped. "I'm here on my own free will, and I can leave on my own free will. I sincerly hope you know that."

"Of course," he responded curtly. "The Stoll boy failed to do what I intended. Instead of using the knife, he resorted to a prank."

"So that's what happened."

"Yes. I should've known, too. He and his brother are unable to resist the chance at a good practical joke. Though, needless to say, the black team of the Games faced the wrath of the girls." He chuckled, but there was no warmth in it. It was cold, empty.

"I see." The voice sounded bitter. "She isn't going to like that."

"I never said she would. It's news, isn't it?"

There was a long pause.

"Isn't it?"

"What of the boy? Jason Grace?" the voice asked, clearly trying to change the subject. "She's dying to know about him."

"I would think that you would get closer," he responded irritably. "Brunner is keeping him close. He's hardly been seen during the Games, and his supposed roommates hardly ever see him."

"I can't," the voice responded. "You know that. I can't, and I won't. Her hold on me may be firm, but it will loosen, and once it does, I'll be free to leave."

He laughed aloud, but it was still empty. "Even if she didn't have a hold on you, you're still here for a reason."

There was no responce.

"I may not know what it is yet," he continued, "but I will find out. And when I do, then so will she. Whoever he or she is, I will find out, whether you like it or not."

Silence. And then: "Get out of my sight."

He smirked. "As you wish."

All the voice could do was stand there and watch as he walked away, laughing into the dark sky.

_**Her hold will loosen eventually. And once it was, nothing will keep me here. Nothing.**_

* * *

**ASK THE CHARACTER!**

From: Pokemonchen

Question for Percy:  
What was the first thing you thought of when Piper said "lover boy"? And how did you figure out the suspect? O.o No offense and all but yea... that would be difficult for you XD Just shows you have some "smarts" in you XD :P

**Percy: To your first question...*scratches head sheepishly* You honsetly want what went through my head when I heard that?**

_Nico: That's what she said._

**Percy: *laughs nervously* In all honestly...the first thing I thought of was 'Potatoes'.**

*Awkward pause*

**Percy: *scowls* Why would that be difficult for me? I figured it out, didn't I?**

_Leo: You seem to forget that Nico, Frank and I did all the work while you were off saving Princess Annabeth._

_Annabeth: *raises eyebrow*_

From: lolly1010

Luke:  
that disguise is terrible. you couldnt really fool anyone from 100 miles away.

_**Sorry, Luke is currently busy being dead.**_

From: BlueBerrySourStraps

Percy, how and where did you get Annabeth's number?

**Percy: I stole her phone.**

_Annabeth: You what? _

Nico, will you admit your bloody feelings for Thalia and kiss the hell out of her?!

**Nico: *turns red* Why would I do that?!**

Hmm...one more...victim...PIPER! You! okay, Piper, if you were to kiss one of the boys, Nico, Percy, Leo, and Frank, who would you kiss?

**Piper: ...**


	13. Connected

The next few days were pure torture.

For Katie, at least.

The day after Travis Stoll broke into the girl's locker room, Katie woke up to find herself surrounded by a _lot _of flowers, and when she moved, at least twenty gallons of water poured on her. On her wall was written, 'With love, TS.' And yesterday, Katie had to watch her step to avoid stepping in chocolate. Or, at least, what looked like chocolate. She was absoulutely miserable.

Her friends, however, were enjoying her torment.

"You guys _suck," _the Maker told them, slumping into her seat. "You are _not _supportive. At all."

"C'mon, Gardner," Clarisse said, snickering. "It's kind of funny."

"No, no, Katie's right," Silena said quietly. She looked up, and her face was dead serious. "I should thank you, Katie."

The girl looked confused. "Why?"

"Well, this guy is an obvious prankster, right?"

"Yeah..." Katie sent a glance to the boy's section, locating the said guy at a table, laughing with Leo, Percy, and a boy who was his carbon copy. He looked over at her table and grinned. The girl turned back to her friends, her face a mask of fury.

"Well," Silena continued, "now I know the things that a prankster does when he or she has a crush on someone."

The whole table burst into hysterics. Katie let out a noise of rage before stomping off. The girls laughed even harder when they noticed Travis Stoll follow her.

The only ones who weren't laughing were Reyna and Thalia. Annabeth had no clue why Reyna wasn't laughing, but she had a pretty good idea of why Thalia wasn't laughing. And it _so_ had to do with that Jason Grace kid.

There had been no word about him for months now. It was already December, and in a few months, the school year would be over. Annabeth could tell that Thalia was growing anxious and impatient. Not a good combination.

"I'll be right back," Annabeth said quietly, standing up and walking towards the exit. Once she was outside of the dining room, she ignored the pitiful whines of "Ow, that hurt!" that seemed to come from Travis Stoll.

"Try not to do destroy him, okay?" Annabeth called dryly as she passed the two.

Katie shrugged, and Travis gave Annabeth a pained smile. "Thanks for helping," he muttered.

"Anything to help young love," she sang.

"Shut _up!" _

Annabeth chuckled, but the smile left her face as soon as Katie's shouts faded. What she was about to do was stupid; there were a million possibilities. Someone could run into her, or something could hit her hat and knock it to the floor, or someone could sense her presence, or...

She shook her head. _**Calm down,**_she told herself. Something was definitley strange; weird boy getting through security, spy, ect., ect. They _had _to be connected somehow.

And she was determined to find out. She couldn't _stand _not knowing.

The moment Annabeth felt she was finally alone, she pulled the hat out of her pocket and placed it on her head. She studied her hand as it slowly disappeared, along with the rest of her body.

_**Great, **_she thought. _**Now I just have to figure out where he might be...**_

* * *

Annabeth groaned in frustration. Not in _any _of the boy's dorms, the Headmaster's office, the Headmistress's office, or...the boys _bathroom. _Annabeth shuddered, promising herself to never go in there again.

_**Think, Chase, think! **_she thought. Where else could the kid be? You'd think that a kid passing out on the lawn of Merriweather academy would be memorable...

**_Of course!_ **Annabeth realized. Thalia had run to the infirmary to look for the Grayson (Layson? Jason? Oh, right, Jason!) kid. So of course he would have medical records!

"Can't believe I haven't thought of that," she muttered under her breath.

Annabeth hurridly walked towards the west wing, where the infirmary was located. When she passed a clock, Annabeth mentally cursed in her mind. It was getting late. She had to hurry back to the dorm before she was missed! That is, if she wasn't already missed...

When she entered the nurse's office, Annabeth glanced around before letting out a sigh of relief. No one was there.

"...believe it! Honestly, you'd think the guy would be more willing by now..."

There was a huff of annoyance. "If I were him, I wouldn't be so willing, either."

Annabeth froze, pressing herself against the wall.

"You're just jealous, Pipes," the first voice taunted. Two figures stepped into the room. Annabeth realized that it was Piper, and her half-sister Drew. What were _they _doing here?

"Jealous? Of the girl who has a hole in her arm? Not a chance."

"I do _not _have a hole in my arm!" Drew said hotly, crossing her arms. "I'm perfectly fine."

"Unfortunatly."

Drew's face twisted into a scowl. "Hey, I don't want to be here very much." She sent a sly look over her shoulder. "Though, looking at the guy _now..." _

"Are you kidding?" Piper hissed. "You like him?"

"You betcha. He's _so _hot. If this is gonna keep me in the school after my little trick, I'll gladly do that. Maybe even a little more."

_**How can they not have seen me? **_Annabeth thought, before remembering her baseball cap made her invisible.

Piper stopped, glaring at the girl. "That stupid stunt you pulled put us both in danger!" she hissed. "We're lucky it was Sophia and Chiron who found out! Not anyone else!"

"Please," Drew scoffed. "If anyone did figure out what I can do, they would never connect me to you! Not even the brainest Brain! Besides, if I had the chance, I'd deny that I even knew your disgusting name."

"Thanks a bunch. Makes me feel so much better," Piper responded flatly. "But whatever happened to 'not using the you-know-what'?"

Drew sneered at her. "Unlike you, stepsister dear, I don't want my gift to go to waste. And now...return our attention to the handsome Jason Grace." She gave a sigh. "Drew Grace...it sounds so right!"

"Whatever," Piper muttered. "Let's go. This place is giving me the creeps. I feel like we're being watched."

"You're too paranoid, Pipes," Drew scoffed, exiting the room. Piper's eyes roamed the room, before her eye's landed on the spot where Annabeth stood. She narrowed her eyes, and Annabeth felt herself freeze.

"Coming?" Drew's voice called.

Piper's eyes snapped away from the supposedly empty spot. "Yeah, coming!" she said, casting another look around the room before leaving.

Annabeth collapsed to the ground in relief. Thank God Piper hadn't realized she was actually there! She almost forgot those two were Sneaks!

Life was complicated.

That sucked.

Taking a deep breath, Annabeth stood up and started to reach toward the nurse's desk. If she could find the correct file, then she would be able to find out what was wrong with him.

_Dong! Dong! Dong! _

Annabeth mentally swore. The warning bell! Her friend's had definitly noticed she was gone!

Reluctantly, she turned on her heel to leave. _**That wasted a lot of my time... **_she thought miserably, before her expression lightened.

_**Of course! Drew said something about something being in his bloodstream. **_Annabeth searched her mind. _**And that day when I overheard Jason and Headmaster Brunner talking...something about a drug...but they stopped talking, so I had to hide with...Seaweed Brain.**_

Annabeth felt her face warm slightly as she remembered what happened, before shaking her head. "I better go," she muttered, before breaking into a run, leaving the infirmary and unanswered questions behind.

* * *

Rain poured mercilessly. He couldn't see anything but falling droplets of water.

"Where are we going?" he yelled over the roaring wind.

"Shush, child!" a voice yelled back at him. "I promised her! I won't go back on that promise!"

He remembered his house, and his sister's talk of running away.

"One day," she would say, "I'll get enough money, pack up our stuff, and we'll move away. Just you and me and away from the Witch."

He really wished his sister could've tried to do it sooner. But it wasn't her fault. She didn't know the Witch was taking him away now.

"I have him," the Witch's voice said.

"So I see," a new voice answered coldly.

"Mommy?" he whispered. "What's...what's going on?"

"You're going somewhere else," was the cold responce. "This nice lady agreed to take you in."

"But...I didn't agree!" he protested.

"You don't get a say!" the Witch snapped. The boy shut his eyes.

He felt a warm hand on his forehead. "It's okay, child," the new voice whispered. "I will help you."

"But..."

_I will help you..._

_Help you..._

_Help you..._

_HELP!_

The boy shot up in his bed, cold sweat matting his forehead. That dream...

"Just a dream," he whispered to himself. "Just a dream..."

Footsteps echoed in the hallway. And there stood Headmistress Sophia, studying the boy carefully.

"Can I help you?" he asked warily.

She nodded, her lips pursed. "Jason Grace," she said, her voice low and even. "Did you have that dream again?"

"No."

Sophia narrowed her eyes. "You can't lie to me, boy."

Jason hesitated. "I did," he finally admitted. "What...what does it mean? Is it a memory? Why...why can't I remember anything?"

The Headmistress shook her head. "If there was something I could do, I would do it. The effects will wear off eventually, but you used such a heavy amount that it will take a few more weeks, months, even years."

The boy fell back, disappointment practically radiating off of him. "I see," he said quietly.

"I'm very sorry," the Headmistress told him.

"But...this woman...she doesn't...feel right," he continued. "Do you know what this is about?"

Sophia shook her head stiffly. "No," she responded. "If you excuse me..." She turned on her heel and left, leaving the distraught boy behind.

Even without his memories, he was smart. And he was getting smarter. This wasn't good.

It never was, in the end.

Sophia rubbed her forehead. Everywhere in this school, some things that seemed totally different were always connected.

Life was complicated.

That sucked.

* * *

**ASK THE CHARACTER! **

From: Pokemonchen

Question to Percy: Why potatoes?

**Percy: I don't know. Why ask me that question?**

Question to Leo, Nico, and Frank: Is that true? That you guys did all the work while he was saving Princess Annabeth?

**All: Yes.**

_Percy: No! _

Question to Percy (again): When did you save Princess Annabeth again?

**Percy: ...a dream...**

Question to Katie: What were you thinking when Travis Stoll winked at you?

**Katie: Stupid perverted evil creepy little *BEEEEEEEEP*!**

_Travis: Harsh._

Question to the twin of Travis Stoll (Connor Stoll): WHERE THE HECK WERE YOU WHEN TRAVIS WAS DOING THE PRANK?!

**Connor: You think I was gonna stay there? Heck no! I wanted to live, thank you very much.**

From: BlueBerrySourStraps

Percy, this is for you...  
How DID you steal her phone? I mean, did you go through her clothes? or search her desk?

**Percy: Um, it was on her desk...I didn't have her number...so I copied it down just in case...**

Nico. TO answer your question, I think you should kiss the smack out of Thalia, because YOU and THALIA are like the cutest couple after Percabeth(Percy & Annabeth) and Tratie, (Travis & Katie)

**Nico: I'M NOT GOING TO KISS HER!**

_Thalia: He's not going to kiss me!_

_Percy and Annabeth: Percabeth?_

_Katie: TRATIE?!_

_Travis: I stand a chance! _

Piper...please answer my question...I personally think you'll end of with Jason...isn't that cute!:)

**Piper: *sighs* You *points to Nico* are too gloomy, you *points to Percy* are in love with Annabeth, you *points to Frank* are not my type, and you *points to Leo* are annoying. And why Jason?**

Katie, what did you think when you see an awesome HOT guy, (AKA Travis Stoll, because I LOVE HIM and his brother, CONNOR), winking at you and checking you out! I LOVE Travis and Connor...Of course, you BELONG with Travis...:)

**Katie: I THINK that I want to kill him! I don't belong with him! **

_Travis: Don't deny it! Feel the love!_

**Katie: Touch me and I'll make sure Thalia and I give you the worst death imaginable.**

_Thalia: *grins*_


	14. Blood

***scowls* Do I _look _like a man named Rick Riordan who owns Percy Jackson? **

**No, didn't think so.**

**Jeez...**

**(That aside, 103 reviews! I love you guys!)**

* * *

_Spying on the Spy, Day 4 (a log by Annabeth Chase, sophomore Brain)_

_Target has been missing for several hours. Piper has attempted to _subtly _interrogate his roommates. _

_This, as you can tell, didn't work so well._

_Well, there's always tomorrow. Though, as Thalia says: 'Screw tomorrow. Let's just get it done in about three minutes'._

Archery was a trickey thing. When Annabeth first tried it, she had gotten several bruises. And that was when she tried to nock the arrow.

She was eight, okay? She didn't know how to handle one very well. And in her defence, the thing was _way _taller than her.

Thalia seemed to be okay at it, though. She rather liked it. Annabeth remembered Thalia once telling her that if she had the choice, she'd carry a crossbow instead of a gun for self-defence (sadly, it'd be kind of obvious if someone were lugging around a bow and arrow).

Annabeth grimaced as the string smacked her arm as she sent the arrow flying. Even with the strong leather covering her arms, it still _hurt. _

"C'mon, Annabeth," Thalia chided. "Like _this._" She nocked an arrow, drew the string back, and shot at the target. It hit only a few inches above the center.

The blonde-haired girl scowled. "You suck."

"Don't be a hater," Thalia teased. "Just because I'm good at something you're not doesn't mean you gotta be so bitter." She ruffled Annabeth's hair, grinning from ear-to-ear.

"Thalia!" Katie's voice suddenly called.

The Leader looked over her shoulder to Katie, her face contorted into an expression of annoyance. "If you want someone to play matchmaker, don't ask me to do it."

"Oh, ha ha. You're _so _hilarious," the girl snapped. "But that's not why I'm here. I created a new machine for a project, and I need someone to test it."

Thalia cocked an eyebrow. "Why'd you think of me?"

"Because I built a titanium wall," Katie responded cheerfully. "It's supposed to be indestructable, so that way they won't blow off the walls if an expierment goes wrong."

"And so you thought of me," Thalia finished flatly. Next to her, Annabeth snickered.

"Please?" Katie pleaded.

Thalia managed a wry grin. "Fine. But I'm warning you; there hasn't been a wall that Thalia Grace hasn't once managed to not make a dent."

After they left, Annabeth once again turned to the target, eyes narrowed.

"I will shoot you," she told it. She nocked another arrow, aimed, and fired.

The string smacked her interior forearm.

"Ow!" Annabeth grimaced as she rubbed the spot, thinking that a bruise would most likely show up. Instinctive tears of pain welled in her eyes, and she forced them back, gritting her teeth.

"Stupid bow," she muttered, kicking said object.

"There's no need to be so harsh, you know," a voice chided. "You have potential, but I'm guessing you don't want that potential."

Startled, Annabeth whipped her head around to find a girl that was several years younger than her.

"What are you doing here?" she asked. "This is reserved for the older students."

The girl didn't answer. Instead, she picked up the bow Annabeth had kicked, and glanced at the Brain.

"May I see one of your bows?" she asked.

Startled, Annabeth handed the girl one arrow. She nocked it and drew the string back. For several moments, she stood there, watching the target, unmoving. Annabeth was feeling slightly impatient as she watched the girl just stand there.

"When are you—"

Annabeth automatically stopped as the girl suddenly released the arrow.

It hit the target dead center.

"It's actually pretty easy," the girl said with a shrug. "I've been doing it for years."

The Brain narrowed her eyes. "Who are you?"

The girl tapped her chin, as though thinking. She was clearly toying with Annabeth, and that made her angry.

"To be honest, I go by many names," she finally admitted. "But personally, I like Londyn with a 'y' or Kiana." She grinned. "Take your pick."

Her patience was beginning to wear thin. "What's your _real _name, kid?"

The girl shook her head, a coy smile on her lips. "If I told you, that'd take all the fun out of it. Besides, it's too soon, anyway." She placed the arrow back in Annabeth's hands. "But I didn't come here to tease you, though it actually kind of is fun."

Annabeth scowled at her. "Then why are you here?"

"Blood."

Her answer completely startled the blonde. She said it so casually, as though it were perfectly normal.

"Excuse me?" Annabeth asked faintly.

"I know of your mission," the girl answered. "I'm not allowed to help you directly, but I can give you a small hint." She leaned forward. "The answer is all in the blood."

Annabeth knit her brows. "What's that supposed to mean?"

The girl leaned back, obviously annoyed. "And you're supposed to be the smart one," she muttered.

"Hey! You're one to talk, kid! Do you really think I'm going to accept some random advice from a little girl?"

The girl glared at her sharply. "I'm trying to help," she seethed. "And since it's so difficult for you to choose, you can call me Kiana. And like I said, I do know what you're doing. The answer is in the blood."

"What? Do you want me to just randomly go up to the Target, cut him, get some blood, and then look at it? It's not that easy." She narrowed her eyes. "How do you know, anyway?"

"That's not relevent." Kiana tapped her foot. "I should warn you, though. What you're getting into...it's dangerous. More dangerous than Cara."

Annabeth shook her head. "Cara is gone. So is Z. So is her stupid project."

Kiana scowled. "Do you think I would be here if that wasn't the case?" she snarled. "This mission you're getting involved in...you may have thought that Cara was insane—"

"Wasn't she?"

Kiana paused. "Well, yes, she was," she admitted. "But there are people just like her. This project she told you about...that only scratches the surface. You're getting yourself and your friends in too deep. You don't want to get involved."

There was a long, awkward silence. Kiana kept her eyes trained on Annabeth's face, searching for any signs of uncertainty in Annabeth's face.

"Cara is dead," the Brain finally said. "I don't know why this spy is here...but I'm going to find out. And if what you say is true—"

"It is," Kiana inturrupted, not missing a beat.

"—then I will try it," Annabeth agreed. She turned on her heel and started to walk away. "Whoever you are, Kiana, you seem to know a lot more than a regular person here would."

"Don't worry." The sly tone returned to Kiana's voice. "You'll figure it out eventually. I promise you, we will meet again."

"What do you mean by—" Annabeth turned around, but to her utter surprise, Kiana was gone.

* * *

Purple was swirling in his blood. A good amount of it, too. It would be a long time before it was fully out of his system.

As the door to the infirmary opened, the old, elderly nurse opened her eyes. "Do you have an appointment?" she asked.

The Headmistress scowled. "I really do hate that line."

The nurse cackled. "Get in line. It's so much _fun _to annoy the students. They think I'm just an old lady with a memory problem."

"Aren't you?"

The nurse leaned forward. "I created thirteen deadly poisons, three of them in the span of a year."

Sophia wasn't impressed. "Take me to him."

The nurse got up, shaking her head. "It's useless, you know. He still doesn't remember a thing, even with those girl's help. Which reminds me." Her eyes narrowed. "Are they trustworthy?"

"Ms. Piper McLean is has made it very clear she doesn't want their little ability to be known to the public. I have agreed to that, under one condition: They will not use them publicly, and will only use it when I request it. Ms. McLean has agreed to that." Her voice dropped. "Ms. Tanaka, however—"

"I thought her name was also McLean."

"Yes, that is what the teacher's will call her. However, she insists on being called by her original name. As I was saying, Ms. Tanaka doesn't seem so willing. She's a bit of a troublemaker, if not a 'drama queen' as Ms. McLean calls her. But I believe that she can control Ms. Tanaka just a little, if not at all. So, yes. I do believe that this agreement will be good."

The nurse nodded. "Of course."

"Now, for the real reason I came down here." Sophia stood up straighter. "Take me to Jason Grace."

The old woman made a 'go on' gesture. "You know where his room is," she said, sounding bored. "Find it yourself."

Sophia gave the woman a curt nod. "Yes, of course." She started to walk down the hall, but stopped and turned back.

"Yes? What is it now?" the nurse asked.

"Has anyone besides Brunner, the two girls, and me come to visit the boy?"

The nurse tapped her chin, thinking. "Well, there was that one girl, claiming that she was his brother back on the first day. But other than that, no one has come to visit him."

Sophia nodded slowly. It was clear that she didn't believe it for one bit. "I see."

With that, she opened the door to Jason's room and disappeared inside.

* * *

**ASK THE CHARACTER! **

From: MusicIsMyLife14

Q: Hazel, sweet innocent little Hazel. WHY AREN'T YOU WITH LEO ALREADY!? you KNOW he's the better choice!

**Hazel: What?!**

_Leo: Huh?_

_Frank: Um..._

From: Pokemonchen

To Percy:  
BECAUSE YOU THOUGHT OF POTATOES! I DIDN'T THINK OF POTATOES! YOU DID! Were you always this "stupid"?

**Percy: Not THAT question! The question about what I thought when Piper called me 'lover boy'! *scowls* And I'm not stupid!**  
To Annabeth:  
Why do great ideas always come last?

**Annabeth: *shrugs***  
To Travis and Connor:  
That's so smart *sarcasm* Why a locker? Dude, they would eventually find you... epic fail.

**Both: You try finding a place to hide in a room full of bloodthirsty girls!**

_Thalia: *shrugs* They're not lying._  
To Reyna:  
Why were you laughing?

**Reyna: ...I wasn't...**

To Katie and Travis:  
What happened after Annabeth left?

**Katie: I left.**

**Travis: She kicked me...in a very sensitive spot.**

_Everyone else: *snickers*_

**Travis: IT'S NOT FUNNY!**

From: BlueBerrySourStraps

Percy, don't you know it's rude to sneak aroubnd a girl's dormitry? Especially Annabeth's. Didn't it occur to you Annabeth CAN and WILL kill you? and you wanted her number? (*HINT, HINT*) (*WINK, WINK*)

**Percy: IT WAS LAST YEAR, HER PHONE WAS ON HER DESK, SHE INVITED US TO TALK ABOUT FINDING A WAY TO SAVE BIANCA, AND LUKE THOUGHT IT WOULD BE A GOOD IDEA! AND YES, THAT WAS BEFORE WE FOUND OUT HE WAS EVIL! LET IT GO!**

Nico, WHYYYY!? You guys are totally cute together...and hell yeah, TRATIE and PERCABETH! Don't deny LOVE Annabeth! you too Katie! ;)

**Nico and Thalia: NO.**

**Annabeth and Percy: ...*awkward silence***

**Katie: I deny the love. **

**Travis: I'm hot, you're cute! What could go wrong?!**

**Katie: Everything. **

Piper, Thanks for answering. and to answer your question, I thik you would be with Jason because Obviously, Nico is DESTINED to be with Thalia, Frank is soooo not your type, more like Hazel's, Percy SOULMATE with Annabeth, Leo, (I LOVE YOU,) and you can find someone too...So yeah...Jason. He's blond, he's cute, he's reallllllly nice too! (I KNOW EVERYTHING!).:)

**Piper: ...you terrify me.**

Katie, I personally think by the ned of this whole new story, you WILL end up with TRAVIS. Don't deny ot sweetie! When it some to love, I'm just like SILENA! (LOVE YOU SILENA!) and yeah...

**Katie: NO.**

_Silena: Thank you! _


	15. Night at Merriweather Academy

**I AM SO SO SORRY. MY INTERNET HAS BEEN DOWN FOR A MONTH, AND I ONLY GET TO WORK ON CHAPTERS FOR MY STORIES WHEN I'M AT MY GRANDPARENT'S HOUSE, WHICH IS ONLY ONCE A WEEK!**

**GAAAAAAAAHHHH!**

**I'm so sorry!**

**...**

**I don't own PJO...**

* * *

Annabeth hardly got any sleep that night.

Tossing and turning, she couldn't seem to get comfortable. When she managed to doze off, she was able to hear the voice of Kiana, mocking her, taunting her. Annabeth knew that Kiana knew what was going on. And she didn't.

She _hated _not knowing. It made her feel so...so...powerless.

Finally throwing off the covers, she sat up, rubbing her forehead. The next event was archery (of course), and Thalia's team would be participating. Annabeth had to be there. Not for the Games (well, sort of for the games...), but for Thalia.

She stood up and walked over to her drawer, doing her best not to make too much noise. Thalia would kill her if she woke her up.

There it was.

The hat.

She hadn't tried to ask Sophia about it; no, she was too busy a woman to spare time for just one student. Even if it was about a hat that could turn her invisible.

Nope.

No time at all.

Annabeth studied the hat. It was amazing, really, even at a school like hers. It looked completely ordinary. There were no wires, no high-tech gear connected inside it. There weren't any secret comparments hiding anything (that one, of course, was ridiculous...but hey, it was always important to keep an open mind).

It was just a hat.

But it couldn't be _just _a hat. It had to be more. That was the only logical explanation.

Maybe a little test wouldn't hurt...

Wordlessly, Annabeth slipped the hat onto her head. The darkness seemed to consume her, hiding her from the rest of the world.

Then...nothing.

Nothing _felt _different. Nothing _seemed _different. It all felt...normal.

Until Rachel woke up.

At first, Annabeth didn't notice. She was standing there, about to take the hat off after a few moments, when she noticed a tuft of red hair. She froze, though she wasn't sure why. It's not like Rachel could see her; but Sneaks were taught to use _all _their senses. It wouldn't be a surprise if she detected her location, even if she was invisible.

Annabeth stood in silence, and so did Rachel. Neither made a single move.

Finally, there was a whisper. "Thalia."

"Hmm?" the black-haired girl mumbled, sounding irritated. "I'm trying to sleep. What do you want?"

"Code A-1-3."

_Intruder._

Thalia was alert now. "What? Where? I don't see anything."

"It's dark, stupid," Rachel countered, sounding irritated. It _was _probably around two in the morning, after all...

Annabeth dared to move a step. Rachel tensed, getting ready to spring. She cursed the accuracy of the Sneaks. It was _so _annoying when it was her.

"There's no one here, Rachel," Thalia growled, annoyance lacing her words.

"No, there is. I can sense it."

"Oh, really? Then what are they? _Invisible?"_

Rachel didn't answer. Meanwhile, Annabeth used the distraction to make it towards the door and open it silently.

"You're lucky Annabeth didn't wake up, or any of the other girls," Thalia muttered. "Then you'd have all of us to deal with in the morning." She gave Rachel a nasty glare. "Night."

With that, she crawled underneath the covers and plopped her head on the pillow, Rachel struggling to make a sound of protest. Before she could, however, Annabeth slipped out the door, and the presence Rachel felt was gone.

"Maybe...it was my imagination," she murmured, but there was still a gnawing doubt inside of her.

* * *

Annabeth walked down the halls, shivering slightly. In the day, it was a cheerful place, filled with the sounds of chatter and the sounds of weapons finding their targets. At night, it was dead silent.

It was creepy.

She readjusted her hat, settling it firmly on her head. It would be awful if it flew off in a crowd full of people.

Why did Sophia give this to her? Surely she had to have known about the hat...

_Blood._

The thought randomly came into her mind. Kiana had said something about the answer being in blood...

Come to think of it, Drew said something about something being in Jason's bloodstream.

**_I'm such an idiot._**

Wandering the school grounds all night was useless, not to mention a waste of time. Somehow, the spy was connected to Jason Grace. Or his blood. Or whatever...either way, she had to find out.

She turned around quickly and started to walk towards the infirmary. If what that girl said was true, then at least one answer would be found in Jason's bloodstream.

She froze.

A figure, wearing dark clothes in order to blend in with the dark, making it impossible to tell if it was a man or a woman. There were no echoing footsteps, not even the slightest creak. Whoever it was, they clearly knew what they were doing.

Annabeth continued to move. Whoever it was, they couldn't be quiet forever. Patrol would find them eventually, and no matter how good he or she was, they couldn't escape them.

The figure walked right past her. Its head tilted, meaning to look out the window, but instead, its eyes bore right into Annabeth's.

She let out a strangled gasp and backed away. She knelt down and hugged herself, trying to keep her emotions under control. Despair clawed at her, and she choked back the wimpers that threatened to come out. She took several deep breaths, then looked up again.

Instead of a mysterious shadowed figure, there was a baffled girl, looking back and forth for the sound that was Annabeth's heavy breathing. She was probably part of the Patrol Team.

Annabeth stayed silent, and finally, the slightly scared girl scampered away, the light of her flashlight bouncing off the walls everywhere.

Was it just her imagination? There was no way a person could have gone that fast. Patrol girl had only just arrived, brought by the sounds that was Annabeth.

Yes...her imagination. It had to be.

After all, the dead didn't come back to life.

* * *

The infirmary was empty.

Annabeth poked her head in, readjusting her hat. She walked in quietly, not willing to test her luck. A small slide for a microscope and a pin was clutched firmly in her hand. She didn't have long to do this; she needed to hurry, and she had to make it quick.

She raced over to a door, opening it. Inside, there were several empty beds, some of them occupied by students who were injured during practice. She entered quickly, examining everyone's faces before frowning in annoyance. He wasn't there.

She just had to try another room, then.

Closing the door quietly, she moved on quickly, casting nervous glances around the place. The inifirmary was like a hospital. She hated hospitals ever since she was...what, seven?

She frowned. That was weird. She didn't really...remember...

It doesn't matter, she told herself, forcing the thought into the back of her head. She had more important things to worry about. And that did not include her life before Merriweather.

She opened another door, before closing it again so fast, she almost slammed it. Her face burned. **_Never again._**

She moved onto the last door, twisting the doorknob.

It was locked.

Frowning, Annabeth pulled a smile wire from her pocket and twisted it, before placing it in the keyhole and twisting it, listening intently. Finally, she heard three small clicks, and she gave a grin. She twisted the doorknob again, and it opened without so much as a creak.

Lockpicking wasn't her best subject, but in this case, it was her friend.

She poked her head inside. It was mostly empty, save for a bed, a desk with an empty tray on it, and two chairs facing the bed. Annabeth felt the seat of the chair. It was still warm.

_**Was Piper in the dorm? **_she wondered. She hadn't checked, and she kicked herself for not thinking of it. She'd been off her game lately.

There was every possibility that Piper hadn't taken Annabeth's route to the dorm; after all, there were dozens of secret passages in Merriweather Academy.

She peered closely at the bed. There was someone it it.

Good. He was there.

Without so much as a blink, Annabeth snatched his hand and pricked his finger. A droplet of blood rolled off, and onto the slide, which was placed next to it.

That was a lot easier than she thought.

She released his hand and started to go. Before she could, however, something snatched her wrist. Gasping, she turned around. Impressive for a boy who couldn't see her.

His eyes were an electric blue. They seemed so familiar. But where had she seen them?

"Help," he rasped. "She's coming."

His grip loosened, and his eyes closed. His hand dangled from the bed. Confused (and a tiny bit scared), Annabeth bolted out the room, quickly locking the door and closing it.

_**Those must have been sedatives, **_she told herself, trying to stay calm. She glanced at the clock. _Four a.m._

Thalia was supposed to be on the archery field in fifteen minutes.

Crap.

* * *

When the nurse entered her office at five thirty, she noticed several odd things. She might have been old, but she wasn't stupid. Her files had been rifiled through, and one of the two clean microscope slides was missing.

She grabbed a brush, dusted it in an odd powder, and walked over to the doors. She dusted it with the brush, and she frowned as it revealed fingerprints. She moved onward, dusting every door. Only a few held fingerprints, all of them leading to a resting place for students who needed care.

She moved onto the last door, hesitating. It didn't make sense. Patrol had clearly stated that no one had been up all night, stating that they were probably resting up for the next event of the Games. They had walked past the infirmary frequently, keeping an eye on medical records. No one could have been in here.

"Whoever it was, they were probably just visiting an injured student," she muttered to herself. She grabbed a rag and erased the fingerprints. There was no use pursuing this. No files had been taken, and that was all that really mattered.

"Hello, Nurse," a voice greeted. "I'm here to speak to the boy."

_Him._

The Nurse nodded, smiling cheerfully, all traces of her discomfort and suspicions gone. "Hello, dear," she said. "Do you have an appointment?"

* * *

**ASK THE CHARACTER!**

From: Experimental Agent 123

Percy, WHERE DID YOU PUT THE LLAMA?

**Percy: Where did I...what?**

Hi Annabeth and thalia and travis and conner and katie and the cat.

**All: Hi?**

**Cat: Meow. **

From: Katie Elizabeth Grace

I have a question for Percy: WHere is your courage? Why haven't you asked Annabeth out already?

**Percy: Why would I...?**

From: BlueBerrySourStraps

Percy, you didn't have to yell...:'( Now I feel bad...You're mean:(

**Percy: I'm sorry!**

Nico, I'm giving up on you...and Thalia. It's okay, in my story, I'll have you, Percabeth, Tratie all makeout!:)

**Everyone: What?!**

Travis, being narcissistic isn't going to help too. :) No offense.

**Travis: *shrugs* **

Piper, I'm sorry I terrified ou, but I'm just asking. Don't yell like someone did. (*HINT, HINT* PERCY *WINK, WINK*):)

_Percy: I said I was sorry!_

You're welcome, Silena:) You seemed the nicest in the group anyways:)

**Silenda: I am!**

_Thalia: She is. _

_Clarisse: It's kind of annoying._

From: Pokemoncen (sorry for misspelling your name!)

To Percy: Fine fine. Hold your horses for Annabeth's sake!

**Percy: I don't have a horse.**

To The Stolls: Well at least find a locked one!

**Both: Then how would we have gotten in?**

To Reyna: Really? I could of sworn you were... O.o

**Reyna: I don't laugh at pointless things.**

_Leo: What are you, Kristen Stewart?_

To Kiana: How old are you and are you a Brain, Leader, or what?

**Kiana: I don't have to answer that, actually. The writer says I don't have to! **

From: August1999

Travis: Will you just ask Katie out already?!

**Travis: I thougt I already did that.**

_Katie: Pouring a bunch of water on me isn't asking me out! Besides, I'd say no!_

**Concerning Ask The Character:**

**Honestly, guys, I fee like 'Ask the Characer' takes up too much of a chapter. So, instead, I'm going to do this:**

**I won't cancel it. I have too much fun with it. Instead, it will be someone of a reward. If we reach a certain amount of reviews, then I will put 'Ask the Character' in the next chapter after reaching that amount of reviews as a reward. We don't have to, but if you would like to do 'Ask the Character', we're gonna have to wait until our goal. Special treat to all my readers. :)**

**Now this author note it taking up too much of the chapter...**

**Our Goal: 150 reviews. **

**See you all next ****chapter!**


	16. Archery

**I'm baaack!**

**To answer BlueBerrySourStraps: No, I am not getting rid of 'Ask the Character' permanetly (SPELLING FAIL [most likely]). I'm using it as a reward when we reach a certain amount of reviews. I just feel like it's taking up more of the chapter than the actual story. Sorry :(.**

**Our current goal: 150 reviews.**

**I don't own PJO. Those rights go to Rick Riordan.**

* * *

"Annabeth! Come on! We don't have all day!" Rachel's voice complained.

"I'm not going," Annabeth said stubbornly, glaring at the locked door. "I'm busy!"

"School is technically out, remember? You don't have to be worrying about research! Besides, Thalia will have my hide if you don't come and she knows I didn't try! Please, Annabeth?"

Annabeth needed to study the slide she had gotten from the night before. She hadn't gotten any sleep since she had returned; she couldn't afford to waste time at the archery tournament!

But Rachel was right. Thalia would be disappointed not seeing her two closest friends there. She would demand an explanation, and when she was angry, Thalia was like a bloodhound; there was no way Annabeth would be able to lie her way out of it; that was Rachel's area of expertise.

"I know how to pick locks, you know!" Rachel threatened. "Don't make me come in there! I'll get the boys."

"You'll have to do better than that!"

"I'll get Percy!"

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Please, what's Seaweed Brain going to do? Act dumb? He can't do anything to me!"

re was a pause on the other side. Annabeth smirked in triumph.

"I'll get Leo!"

The smirk froze on her face.

Two minutes later, the door opened, and Annabeth appeared, clutching a water bottle and sporting a bullet-proof vest. "Let's go."

* * *

"I don't like archery."

"Yes, Annabeth. I know. We all know. You've made it painfully clear." Rachel ran a hand through her red hair, squinting down at the archery field. "Wow, how can they hold those things? I mean, the string is painful when it hits your arm!"

"I know," Annabeth grumbled, rubbing her arm, remembering the day she practiced in the training room. It _still _stung.

"Archery is for cowards," Clarisse sniffed. "They just stand back shooting sticks at people while the others with real weapons are doing all of the work." She grimaced at the thought.

"Archery isn't that bad," Katie objected. "It takes real skill to master it, you know."

"I prefer close-range weapons," Annabeth said casually. "Or maybe different tactics. Trying to get something to talk is a useful thing to know? Don't you think, you guys?"

Annabeth was taking a risk talking about this. She kept a close watch on Piper from the corner of her eye. The girl didn't seem the slightest bit concerned, though she twitched slightly.

"Getting people to talk can be really messy," Silena argued, not taking her eyes off of the match. "That can basically be translated into torture. That's not my cup of tea, thank you very much. I think I'll just stick to sneaking around and gathreing information without any torture devices."

Annabeth tuned out of the conversation she started. It was obvious that Piper wasn't going to talk. She needed to find a different tactic.

She examined the small group of friends. Katie and Clarisse were in a heated arguement about torture contraptions, while Silena looked sick at what was probably gruesome details Reyna was providing; Rachel looked a little green as well. Hazel was gone, keeping a close eye on the Target. Piper was being strangely quiet. Frowning slightly, she surveyed the area; Drew wasn't in sight.

Why should she, anyway? They never talked with each other during the day. They probably only talked at night...

Suspicious. Very suspicious. This definetly needed more research.

"Annabeth," Silena's voice said, breaking her train of thoughts, "are you going to take off the bullet-proof vest?"

"I don't trust arrows," Annabeth said flatly.

"But...a bullet proof vest? Really?"

"It's inlaid with ceramic plates," the blonde-haired girl responded. "If a knife can't get through it, then there's no chance an arrow will. At least, not from a distance, I hope."

"You're so paranoid," Rachel complained. Her eyes lit up. "Look, it's Thalia's turn!"

Annabeth turned her gaze towards the field. Sure enough, she spotted Thalia's spiky black hair, grabbing an arrow and notching it on the bow. Annabeth squinted, trying to get a closer look. Yup, she was pulling the string back, about to fire...

The arrow shot from the bow and embedded itself just an inch above the center. Rachel stood up, letting out a whooping cry of support while the other girls cheered as well. Even from a distance, Annabeth could tell her friend was grinning with delight.

"That was an amazing shot! I'd like to see him do any better!" Silena said, indicating to the boy that was preparing to fire his own arrow. Even Clarisse, the one who was disapproving of archery, seemed to agree with Silena.

The boy brought the string back and aimed. He released the arrow, sending it flying directly in the center. The girl's bleachers booed loudly, while the boy's side cheered.

"Dumb luck," Katie scoffed. She glanced at her wrist, which sported a watch. "Aw, darn. I agreed to meet with Miranda for a project. I'm gonna be late." She stood up, adjusting her skirt in the process. "I'll see you guys later!"

Once Katie was gone, the girl's returned their attention to the field. A rather tall girl was holding an arrow, but not notching it. She was looking around, as though searching for someone."

Reyna frowned slightly, leaning closer. "There is something off about that girl," she said quietly. "Why hasn't she fired yet?"

"What are you talking about?" Rachel asked. "She looks perfectly okay to me."

"A little to thick on the make-up, though," Silena added. "I mean, seriously. The foundation is so painfully obvious, and I can see the glop of mascara even from here. I bet I could see more if I were a little closer."

The girl was notching the arrow now. She seemed in no hurry to fire.

"Hurry up!" someone from the boy's side yell. "We don't have all day!"

Murmurs of agreement rose from the girl's side as well. The girl notched the arrow, ignoring the grumblings from the school.

"Why would someone wear make-up on an archery field?" Annabeth asked quietly. The girl was notching another arrow.

"What is she...?"

Without warning, the girl turned around, pulled the string back, and fired the arrows into the crowd. Several screams rose into the air, Before anyone could sound the alarm, she was taking off running.

"Oh my god," Piper was saying, over and over. Several Sneaks and Leaders rose from the bleachers and the field and started to run after the girl. She rose to, and ran down the steps of the bleachers.

"Someone must have been hit. With a crowd like this, it's bound to hit at least one person," Reyna said darkly. Sure enough, nurses, who had been sent into the field in case of any accidents, were racing towards the bleachers, shoving through the crowd in order to make their way towards the person, presumably the one who had been shot.

"We should help," Silena said uneasily, finally breaking out of her 'oh my god' phrase.

"What can we do?" Clarisse asked tersely. "We'd just get in the way."

At that moment, Piper came running back to them, her face a mask of panic. "Katie," she gasped. "They shot Katie."

* * *

In truth, Katie wasn't shot. At least, not fatally. The arrows had only grazed her neck. It was bleeding, but the wound wasn't that deep. Even so, nurses were examining her wounds in case the arrows were tipped with posion. Otherwise, she would be fine.

Thalia was sitting in the dorm, staring at her hands with a blank expression. Rachel was sitting next to her, patting her back comfortingly, while Annabeth was looking out the window. Reyna stood against the wall, staring at the ground with a dark look on her fase. Hazel looked upset at what had happened to her new friend. Piper remained expressionless.

"I should have stopped that girl," Thalia muttered. She had been one of the people who had jumped up to chase after the mystery girl. "I can't believe...I can't believe I let her do something like that to Katie!" She clenched her fists.

"It's not your fault," Rachel told her. "It's no one's fault, okay? Calm down. No one could have known."

"The school should have improved the security system," Reyna said grimly. "You would have thought that they would have learned their lesson after the incident with Drew."

Rachel gave Reyna an ugly look. "Shut up!" she hissed. "Thalia feels bad enough!"

Thalia stood up. "I need to go visit Katie. That'll clear my head."

"But the nurse said that visitors weren't allowed until the examination was complete!" Hazel protested. She reached forward to stop Thalia, but a hand on her shoulder stopped her. Baffled, Hazel turned to look at Annabeth, who kept her expression blank.

"Just let her go," she said quietly. "I have a feeling Katie isn't the only reason she's going to the infirmary."

No matter how much this didn't make sense to her, Annabeth knew that Thalia needed some alone time. Knowing someone for several years did that to you.

"We should all hit the sack," Piper suggested. "It's late out."

The girls reluctantly agreed, before parting to head into their rooms. As Annabeth was slipping into her pajamas, she glanced at the clock.

It read eight p.m.

It was time to get to work.

Looking over at Rachel, who was looking ready to collapse any moment as she was changing her pajamas, Annabeth walked towards her dresser and pulled out the hat. Turning it upside down, the inside revealed to have hidden the slide. It was sligthly off; it covered more than half the slide, but it would have to do. With Piper lurking around, it would be hard to collect another drop of blood; Rachel had almost discovered her yesterday, so she would have to lie low for a while.

Walking to her desk and pulling out a microscope, she sat down at her chair and placed the slide under it. She looked into the eyepiece, frowning slightly. It was blurry. Adjusting it, she took another look, this time getting a better view.

Purple.

His blood...was spotted with purple.

Surprised, Annabeth leaned back, blinking. His blood...had purple in it. That wasn't...that wasn't right.

Alien? Annabeth snorted, discarding the thought immedietly. There was no point in jumping to ridiculous conclusions. There was another solution, another theory nagging at her, but she felt too tired to figure it out. Rubbing her head, she let out a soft groan. She was really off her game lately. It was frustrating.

That wasn't something to worry about. Not right now. Not with everything going on.

Letting out a soft sigh, she got up and turned off the lamp light and crawled into bed. Maybe if she closed her eyes for just a few minutes...

She was fast asleep in minutes.

* * *

Thalia's hands were tucked behind her head, giving her a relaxed composure, though her thoughts were running eighty miles per hour. She bumped into some late stragglers and mumbled a half-hearted apology. She didn't have time to waste.

Opening the door to the infirmary, she looked inside. The nuse was inside, shuffling through some papers. The old woman didn't look up as Thalia walked into the waiting room.

"Do you have an appointment?" the nurse asked. Her tone was different than what it was a few months ago; it was bored, and sounded more practiced. The black-haired girl ignored her and walked past her, heading towards one of the wards that were holding injured students.

"Answer my question! Do you have an appointment?" the nurse demanded, her tone much more angry.

Thalia stopped walking and glanced over her shoulder. "Yeah, I do. But not with you."

The nurse stood up and glared at Thalia. "You've been trying for months already. Isn't it time to give up?" She reached under her desk and pressed a button.

"Gee, as tempting as that is, I think I'll pass." Thalia snapped. "I'd like to see him, you know. You think I'm afraid of you just because you created thirteen different poisons?"

The nurse sighed. "Oh, well. You can't have everything, right?"

Thalia narrowed her eyes. "Don't try to stop me, hag. You don't have the strength!"

The nurse clucked her tongue. "Hag? That's no way to talk to your elders, Ms...Grace, correct?"

The girl's eye twitched. "_Yes, _it is," she seethed. "You know who I am, and you know who I'm here to see."

"Katie Gardner?" the nurse shook her head sadly. "Oh, poor girl. So much poison on one arrow! We're having a hard time figuring out if she's going to survive the night! But I suppose you don't care for your friend that much, do you? Only here to visit that boy…"

Caught off guard, Thalia's eyes widened, and she spun around to face the old woman. "She's dying?!" she choked out. Distress was evident on her face. Just then, the door opened, and two girls entered, surveying the area, before marching in and grabbing Thalia by the arms.

Of course. The nurse had been stalling.

"If it makes you feel better," the old woman called as Thalia was being dragged out, "your friend is perfectly fine."

The hallway was soon filled with profanities as Thalia was being dragged away. Once she was out of sight, the nurse shook her head. "Kids these days."


End file.
